Chapter Six: Across the Ocean and Back

We're now on to generation two!  Time for Marlin to take the spotlight.  If you are curious about the rolls for his generation (or his traits), you can check out the generational rolls page, which can be found by clicking the link over on the right side.

I've been thinking about alternating how I narrate the story, but I'm not sure how to go about it.  So I'll stick with the original "style" if you can call it that.  Haha.  Anyways, enjoy!

Marlin picked out a nice little, two bedroom house on nearly the opposite side of town from his parents.  It was still on the same side of the river though, and it wasn't like the town was all that big.  His father had even presented him with his truck, the faithful old thing now sitting once again out in the open instead of in a nice garage.

All through high school he had been unsure of what to do with his life.  He'd thought about a traditional career, but none of them appealed to him.  Then he'd thought about alchemy and selling his potions down in the alchemy shop, but that too just didn't seem quite right.  It was actually his mother who had suggested he look at fortune telling.  His magic was strong enough to make it work, even if it wasn't exactly what he'd been practicing up until now.

It was certainly odd, going to sleep in a room all by himself.  Not only that, but the bed was simply huge compared to his bunk bed.  The knowledge that nobody else was in the house was also a bit off-putting, and it took a few days until he began to feel comfortable in his own home.

At least, until he heard footsteps downstairs at some ungodly hour of the morning.  There wasn't supposed to be anybody down there, so Marlin called the police in hushed whispers.  He was a fortune teller, not a fighter!  Besides, what if there were more than one?  Marlin wasn't stupid and he wasn't about to go down and find out.

For some reason the burglar took his shower.  How he managed that he had no idea, but the police took so long in responding that he had no worry about running out of time from disconnecting the plumbing.  Marlin was suitably peeved at the emergency response crew.  At least he had the money to replace it-and to add a burglar alarm to the house.  Life went on.

(And this picture has nothing to do with what the text says, because I lost the picture I was going to use....Ssssh.)

Before long, Toni was of an age that it was legal to do certain things with again.  There was a lot of kissing.  Of all of his friends, Marlin had never imagined falling so much in love with Toni Redding.  She had been a complete tomboy as a child, and unlike most of his friends, she was also a loner.  Yet they seemed to compliment each other perfectly.

  It wasn't much of a surprise when the two started living together.  Toni lived by herself, having grown up in a group home and, as soon as she reached young adult age, moving into a torn down little house on the edges of town.  Before she got a job and settled in, and before Marlin got too far into his career, they decided to take a short trip to Egypt.

Their first day was filled with shopping, including the purchase of a little mummy bear that Toni seemed to adore.  Marlin even had to consider that he might be jealous of the toy, as Toni could not seem to put it down.  He finally convinced her to leave it with the rest of their baggage at the campsite on the second day, so that they could go and see some of the sites.

He also convinced her that she should wear something other than what she had been.  He was mostly worried about her heels, which had already sunk in the sand just at the market multiple times.  Toni wasn't stubborn though, and perfectly happy to change into something more suitable.  For a price.

At some point during their shopping (probably when he'd been looking at recipe books, having taken a fancy to cooking) she had purchased a camera.  A camera that she wanted to use at every single site.  Yet Marlin couldn't convince her to put herself in the picture, not even once.

They messed around with pyramid doors, Toni giggling as Marlin tapped and rubbed the ancient stone, supposedly keeping an eye out in case they were breaking some sort of law.  Marlin couldn't figure out what she found so funny and she wouldn't tell him.

Some of the doors they managed to open and inside were amazing ruins that hadn't been entered for centuries.  Toni even managed to keep from clicking the little disposable camera constantly out of respect for the long dead civilization.

Not that it stopped them from loudly removing stacks of rubble to look deeper into the tomb.  Marlin began to wish he'd worked out more prior to their trip-swinging a pickaxe was heavy work!

Toni had a habit of peering into sarcophagus's, despite which seemed to Marlin to cancel out the reverence of not taking a picture every couple of minutes.  She did find some interesting things though.

Including a mummy, though neither of them noticed it until almost too late.

Perhaps it was because they grew up in Moonlight Falls, where the supernatural were common place, that they weren't absolutely terrified of the mummy.  Besides, it was easy enough to out run it, and the door to the tomb shut after they left.  Come to think of it, it was a good thing it hadn't shut while they were in there.

On their last day they simply spent together in one of the greener areas of Al Simhara.  Once they returned from their trip, no doubt life would get in the way and it would be a long time before they could spend so much time together again.

To the disappointment of Marlin's family they decided to get married that last day.  No fancy wedding, no guests at all.  It was the perfect wedding, and Marlin was just happy that his wife was that-his wife.

Toni brought back more from their trip than Marlin had expected.  For one, she brought back a snake she named Jin.  She loved the thing, despite the fact that it bit everyone who picked it up.  Including herself.  Luckily it wasn't venomous, and if it wasn't anything to go by, Marlin was glad he had talked her out of the snake charming basket.

She also came back with a little Marlin&Toni inside.  Her plans to get a job were obviously put on hold, and Marlin worked harder than ever in his own, as they had spent most of their money on their trip.  When he was home he just couldn't keep his hands off the tummy that held growing life that was part of his making inside though.

Toni was patient enough, spending her long days home alone reading books about the upcoming trials.  She planned renovations to the second bedroom, ones that she hoped to put in place as soon as they had all of the essentials-like a crib.

She didn't have to worry about getting her way, since Marlin was wrapped around her pinky finger.  A craving for spicy waffles?  Marlin was on it.  A book from the bottom shelf?  Marlin had it.  A massage?  Guess who was there.

So it was a complete surprise when Toni went into labor much earlier than she should have.  Her pregnancy had been normal, with no hiccups-even little morning sickness.  Marlin was at work when she felt the first pains, and it took her a moment to locate a phone to call the hospital and then her husband.

By the time Marlin had rushed home, emergency services had pronounced his wife dead.  He couldn't understand most of what they said, something about tearing during the birth.  All he could comprehend was that his wife, of less than a year, was dead and he was all alone.

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I promise it gets happier!  Poor Marlin...