12 Houston

   Day came to the small town of Houston the only thing good about it was the world's largest fly fishing rod. At one time people came from all over just to fight a steelhead trout. With the economy on the decline and the town with boarded-up shops and dirty streets, no one wanted to come anymore. 

    The motel diner was not the cleanest, and not a single employee wore a uniform, just black pants, and a  black T-shirt. On the wall pictures of semi-famous people who passed through the town. Above the bathroom doors a small sign read, “We have run out of toilet paper, please use the spotted owl beak side down.”

   Today Warren and his two companions would board the ferry to New Avalon in hopes Warren could gain better control of the eidolon. Plume trusted the spiritual beast as far as he could throw it. Since it’s an incorporeal form that made it impossible to throw, he did not trust it at all. Nerea and Warren regaled the plucky Seelie with the events of the previous night. As the story went on Plumes' expression grew dourer and dourer. He was about to speak when the conversation got interrupted by the waitress.

   A plump middle-aged waitress came to take their order, she smiled at Nerea and Warren but blatantly forgot Plume. “Are you one of those mythic sympathizers?” The tone in her voice implied that Plume's presence was unwelcome.

   The eidolon flashed warning bells, Warren nodded, “We are on our way to New Avalon. The magic got me bad. The Mythics as you call them, are supposed to help me get a handle on it.”

  The waitress snorted and dug out her paper and pen, “More like turn you into one of them. It’d be worse than going Indian,” She made no move to apologize, “What’ll it be.” They made their order and waited until the waitress left voice range. 

  Plumes' displeased face cast a dark cloud over the breakfast table, and he spoke through clenched teeth, “Did it occur to either of you to stomp on the gas?”

   “You saw the fog last night. If I put the pedal to the metal we could have crashed. We are not on the prairies anymore. The roads here have lots of twists and turns,” Nerea tersely passed the salt to Warren.

    “I am supposed to believe the Eidolon offered to help out of the goodness of its heart, oh wait it doesn’t have one.” Plume almost threw his cup across the room. “Please never do that again without me. I am charged with making sure Warren makes it to New Avalon in one piece. Please wake me next time.”

   Warren and Nerea shot him a winsome smile each, “The fog was affecting us. Nerea started to lose hope and almost turned the car around. The eidolon volunteered to help, in the interests of the trust, I went along with the plan. I don’t know how you do it on New Avalon, but our way worked.”

    Nerea held Plume’s hand and smiled, “We will explain what happened to the queen should anyone kick up a fuss over it.” Plume’s demeanor turned soft at Nerea’s touch. “I suppose bringing Warren possessed by angry souls would’ve been counterproductive to our goals.”

    The waitress brought their breakfast, she lowered her head, and whispered, “You best eat quick. Some of the boys in the back are blaming you mystics for the state of things.”

     “They do know a human cast the spell, right? The Seelie people are victims in this situation too. We didn’t ask to be here, yet here we are.” Plume sank out of sight and began to nibble on his French toast.

      Warren studied the Waitress and looked at the back of the restaurant, no one was there. The scene confused him. Why would the waitress make a threat? He pushed his eggs and bacon back to the waitress. “I wanted my eggs scrambled. Could you take it back?” Warren no longer felt hungry. 

    The waitress sneered and took the plate into her semi-flabby arms, “How about you and your friends leave. We have real people here paying hard-earned money, we don’t need you.” She held out the bill and expected payment.

    Nerea held it together long enough to pay, plus tip, and leave without a word passing from her lips. Her entire body shook with rage and her breath became shallow and distended. She motioned for Plume and Warren to follow her. 

    The fresh morning air and the silence of the parking lot were torn asunder by a string of Spanish curses. “If it’s not the Africans, it’s the Arabs or some other foreign culture. The facts were laid bare on national television, a human-caused everything.”

    “Who cares,” Warren held the seat forward for Plume to sit in the back, “I expected people to act like that. They refuse to accept the truth, even if it’s biting them in the ass. All I can do is try and make the world a better place with my actions.”

     Plume gave Warren an affectionate pat on the back, “It’s nice to know humanity still strives for change.” He chuckled, “I remember when they announced Seelie and Unseelie would merge into the Seelie as one people. It was unthinkable, but the truth was the Seelie were guilty of many bad acts, and the Unseelie often committed random acts of kindness.”

  “When did things get better?”

   “Phineas Fudrucker, a simple transient goblin. He walked all across Avalon noting changes in the people after the ceremony. He found villages that welcomed their new brothers and sisters, prospered far better than those that fought against the change. Anyway, five years later he handed the report to queen Elphame.”

    Nerea leaned against the driver’s door, “How did she respond?”

    Plume laughed, “She made copies and distributed them. Pretty soon everyone was reading it. The account of his journey was fair and honest. He admitted to his misgivings as well. My point is change begins with one person. I am fortunate to have found two people with acceptance in their hearts.”

    Nerea nodded and hopped in the driver’s seat, “Next stop, Prince Rupert.”