{"sf1_id":767218,"sf2_id":null,"title":"It's a Ring Thing","author":"StGeorgesHorse","words":2448,"posted_at":"2014-10-12T21:35:00.000Z","tags":["Human","Leonardo Da Vinci","Plot Development","Story Progression","Werewolf","back story"],"url":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/767218-it-s-a-ring-thing","original_url":"https://sofurry.com/view/767218","image_url":"https://www.sofurryfiles.com/std/thumb?page=767218\u0026ext=.jpg","description":"#53 of The Moonrise Chronicles\n\nThis is, I think, the second to last story in this series for a while. I believe I know where I want it to go, but I will need to do some research before I get started on that section of it. Can't have me making mistakes on the history of the Kind. That would be sacrilege.","content":"                A few\nhours later everyone gathered together. Edward's chest was healed, but like\nMaggie, he was going to retain a scar for the rest of his life. Maggie was in\nthe master's face over the matter of the armor and weapons. He was doing his\nbest to be diplomatic.\n                \"Yes,\nyes. I understand your distress. When we made those items, they were meant to\nbe used as a threat, so that all members of the kind would behave within the restrictions\nset down by the rule we agreed upon.\"\n                \"Sort\nof like the atomic bomb? Behave or someone will come along and drop it on you?\"\n                Leonardo\nknit his brows in confusion. \"A-tom-ic bomb?\"\n                \"Never\nmind. It's something better left unsaid. Who did you make the armor for?\"\n                \"For\nthe pope my dear. It was his way of having a method of exerting control over\nthe kind. He was not of the kind, though he held no ill will against us. But as\nI think I can see in you, we tend to have little use for beliefs that hold no\nreal sway with an intelligent mind. I would never say there is no God, but for\nsomeone who is supposed to be all seeing and all powerful, he seems to need an\nawful lot of human help in furthering his goals, whatever they are.\"\n                \"So the\npope created a werewolf assassin?\"\n                \"NO! I\nthink you would call him more of an arbitrator. A go-between. But on an equal\nfooting with the kind. It's hard to exert your authority without a way of\nbacking it up. His suit and weapons carried as much sway as did our\ntransformation.\"\n                \"Alright,\nalright. It sounds reasonable. But the weapons. Why didn't you let me pull the\nsword out?\"\n                Leonardo\npulled the sword off of a side table. \"Here, feel the surface of the blade.\"\n                She ran\nher fingers from the tip upwards, feeling the surface to be smooth but rather\nirregular. When she reversed course, however, her fingers stopped abruptly. It\nwas a little like sharkskin. \"How did you manage to do this?\" she said in\namazement.\n                \"We didn't\ndo it on purpose. The alloy from the rock created crystals when mixed with the\nsteel. Even adding other metals didn't help it much, and in the end adding a\ntouch of silver, may God forgive me, finally reduced them to a size that wasn't\nobtrusive. It was not my intention of making these confounded things as\ndangerous as they are. If you had tried to pull it out, there was a good chance\nyou would have removed the contents of his chest cavity. I'm not sure that even\nthe kind could have recovered from that.\"\n                \"That accounts\nfor the pain and difficulty in removing the daggers from my shoulders. They hurt\nlike hell!\"\n                \"Yes,\nthey do. I should know, for I too have wounds from them. I could not in good conscience\nleave them go without seeing how dangerous they were. It was decided to keep\nthe information about their power quiet, and even the pope did not know.\"\n                Maggie frowned.\n\"You know, I'd like to claw your eyes out, but then what good would that do? I don't\nthink you were using your brain to its full capacity when you did all of this.\"\n                \"Now\nsee here! I did what I felt was right. It wasn't like I had any soothsayer to\ndirect my decisions. I went with what I had to work with. So please don't judge\nme by your present position in time. It will not do!\"\n                \"Sorry.\nI guess it's easy to second guess when you have more of the facts.\" Maggie actually\nmanaged to look contrite.\n                \"Your\napology is accepted. Now, if you don't mind, I think we need to look to the\nfuture.\"\n                \"Not so\nfast. What out the papal bulla?\"\n                \"What of\nit?\"\n                \"Did\nyou ever read it?\"\n                \"No my\ndear. What the pope did didn't affect me.\"\n                \"Then\nmaybe you should some time. I would suggest you be more aware of how your\nactions have affected the kind. Many have likely died over the centuries\nbecause of it.\"\n                \"And again,\nwhat can I say? There is always death in the world. Some of it is necessary,\nand some of it is not. Do you grieve for your friend the cardinal?\"\n                \"No.\nBut what of all the innocents!\"\n                \"And what\nof all the guilty who lived? We can debate these things until we are tired, and\nresume them again at the light of day. What has been has been. Now let us look\nto where we are headed. I believe we have divergent desires.\"\n                Maggie crossed\nher arms and frowned. But Edward ran his finger down her back, making her\nscrunch up and shiver. \"Look Mags, he's right. Let's worry about what we can\ndo, not what is done and over.\"\n                \"Humph!\nIf you say so. But remember, they say you can't know where you're going unless\nyou know where you came from.\"\n                He\ntickled her ribs. \"Then we still need to figure out where you came from, don't we?\"\n                She giggled\nand then put her frown back on. \"Russia, remember?\"\n                \"Yeah,\nI remember. And there must be more of your kind out there, or else that Bernard\nfellow would not have known your smell from the rest of the kind.\"\n                \"We'll\nfigure it out eventually. We need some way of getting there, and for the\nmoment, we're stuck right where we are.\"\n                She\nseemed satisfied and put her head on his arm. Leonardo had waited patiently\nuntil their discourse was finished.  \"My\nfriends, I feel that this place will do us no good. Having seen how advanced\nyour culture is, I feel that we must leave here, and perhaps never return.  I only hope that your official monitoring\ngroup has dispersed.\"\n                \"Our\nwhat?\" Edward asked with a look of bemusement on his face.\n                Maggie\npoked him. \"I think he's talking about the police. They began firing at us.\"\n                \"Oh? What\nhappened to them?\"\n                Leonardo\nlooked ashamed. \"I had to disable them. I now know that they could not have\ninflicted any real harm, but at the time, they were being a distraction.\"\n                \"Oh\ngreat. You attacked the local cops. Just fucking great! We'll have to get to\nour vehicle to get some clothing, and then try to sneak off to who knows where\nto escape them. I really doubt we'll ever make it off this continent without passports.\nSo I think we're stuck here!\"\n                Maggie punched\nhim. \"Chill out father. Where there's a will, there's a way. Let me sneak out\nand see what's going on. If I can get to the car, then I'll bring back some\nclothes.\"\n                \"Oh,\nreally? Just like that. Are you forgetting the keys?\"\n                Emile\njangled something from the side. \"Do you mean these monsieur?\"\n                \"Well I'll\nbe. Where did you get them?\"\n                \"They were\nstill on your person when we dragged you back here. They were in your pocket.\"\n                \"Well,\nthat's something.  Alright Mags, if\nanyone can do it you can.\"\n                The lid\nto the workshop was lifted, and she scampered out, transforming as she did. A\nnaked girl would draw more notice than a stray dog, even if there were rumors\nrunning amok that there had been a wolf attack recently. Then all they could\nwas wait in the darkness.\n                She\nreturned, full of smiles and an armful of clothing. She tossed the keys back to\nEdward. \"Both cars are there, though I don't know what you intend to do with\nyour little baby. You're the only one here who knows how to drive, and I'd\nsuggest we get a move on it soon. The place is still crawling with cops.\"\n                \"I love\ngood news,\" he said sarcastically. \"So how do you suppose we're going to get\nout of here?\"\n                \"Give\nme time to think. Even if we do make it out without a hitch, we don't have\nanywhere to go, now do we?\" Then she got a dreamy look on her face.\n                \"What is\nit?\"\n                \"Nothing.\nI think I'm going to call in a favor.\"\n                \"A\nfavor? From whom?\"\n                \"A\nfriend. I think I know where we need to go.\"\n                She\nrefused to say anymore. They got dressed and worked their way out of the\nworkshop and onto the grounds of the chateau.  There were officers stationed at different\npoints, and there seemed to be an investigation going on to one side, but they\nwere paying little attention to anyone on the grounds.\n                Maggie leaned\nup to Edward. \"Do you think I should tell them to dredge the river for a hand?\"\n                He had\nno idea what that was about. \"Uh, I'd say we keep quiet and get the hell out of\nhere.\"\n                They\nexited the wall, turned towards the parking lot and climbed into the Fiat.\nEdward put it in reverse and headed back the way they came. They made a stop\nback at the abandoned farmhouse, where the twins said a final goodbye to their\nferal friends. From there, it was back to Rome.\n                Edward\ngot them booked back into their old hotel, which seemed more than willing to\ngrant them enlarged accommodations. It was always good to leave a large tip\nwhen one left a fancy place like this. Once they were settled, Maggie slipped\nout, coming back a few hours later.\n                \"I\ntalked with my friend. He says that he would like to meet all of you,\nespecially you Leonard da Vinci.\"\n                Edward\nshook his head. \"Maggie, I find you to be extraordinary, but that doesn't tell\nus a thing. Anyone alive today would love to meet the master.  Who is this secretive friend you are talking\nabout?\"\n                \"You'll\nfind out soon enough. He's sending a limousine around in an hour.\"\n                Leonardo\ncocked his head. \"Lim-o-seen?\"\n                Maggie laughed.\n\"A vehicle that is equipped like a palace. You'll love it!\"\n                When it\narrived, Edward looked it over for some clue as to whom it belonged. As it\nturned out, it was a rental. The inside was posh and well outfitted, but\nlacking a few things he thought were standard. He could have used a drink from\nthe bar right then.\n                He knew\nhe needed it even more when the beast of a car pulled into the grounds of the\nVatican.  It hardly mattered that the\nring would have neutralized it effects. There was a psychological effect to be\nreckoned with. \"Maggie, are we going to see the pope?\"\n                \"Of\ncourse! He told me he owed me after leading him to that secret chamber. He's a\nbit sad about the end of the Cardinal, as he wanted to know more about this\nleague he had. They are still hauling out the silver coins, and he says the\nVatican Bank will be financially secure for a hundred years once they cash in\non their value. And the artifacts and books down there will keep scholars busy\nfor an equal amount of time.\"\n                Leonardo\nsmiled. \"So some good has come out of this?\"\n                Maggie was\nwiggling in her seat. \"I'm not much of one for religion, but this guy sits well\nwith me. He's what the whole thing's about. Given enough time, I might even go\nto church.\"\n                Edward's\njaw dropped. \"Really?\"\n                She\nsmiled. \"Hell no! But he is kind, so you be nice to him. He's a good man. And I\nknow a good man when I find one.\" \n                They\nwere escorted up to the pope's private quarters. All along the way, there were\nmen in black suits. He might be meek, but the church was taking no chances with\nhis safety. Edward had a feeling that the fact that a young girl made it into\nhis chambers without anyone noticing may have been an embarrassment to the security\nteam.\n                The\ndouble doors opened wide as they were ushered in. The pope was sitting at his desk,\napparently writing a letter. He set down his pen and turned. \"Maggie cara, io\nsono così felice che sei tornato! E vedo che hai portato i tuoi amici!\"\n                She\ncoughed a little into her hand. \"Not everyone speaks Italian.\"\n                \"My\nmany apologies! Welcome, welcome. Please find a chair and sit.\"\n                Everyone\nsat down. \"My friends, I have done much to improve the church since being\nelected to this position. As the duly appointed shepherd of God's flock, it is\nmy duty to clean up all things that do not fit in with the church's purpose. I\nhave removed accounts from the bank, and this new source of cash that my little\nfriend here uncovered has done much to strengthen the financial structure of\nthat hallowed institution. I had no idea that there was such an organization\nwithin the church, and I assure you, there never will ever again.\"\n                He\nturned to the old man with the beard.  \"And\nyou are, though I find myself hardly believing the word coming out of my mouth,\nthe one and only Leonardo da Vinci?\n                The master\nheard his name, but was unable to understand anything more. Maggie slipped her\nring on the pope's finger, finding little room there with all his others. \"Now\ntry.\"\n                The pope\nrepeated it. \n                \"Ah,\nyes, I am he. A little worse for the wear after my recent revival, but it is I nonetheless.\"\n                The two\nset down to talking for the next hour, and while the others were ignored for\nthe moment, they didn't feel left out. How could anyone feel left out while\nsitting in the pope's private quarters while he and the great Leonardo da Vinci\nhad a private discussion? It was a momentous occasion, and one likely never to make it to the history books. However Edward finally leaned over to Maggie. \"You gave the pope\nyour ring?\"\n                \"Yeah,\nfor now.\"\n                \"Why is\nit working for the necessary translation? The rings only work on the kind.\" The confusion was plain of his face.\n                She gave\na little smirk and wrinkled her eyebrows. \"I know. Pretty cool, huh? He doesn't\nknow a thing about that either so I think we should just leave it that way. Ignorance is bliss after all.\"  "}