Chapter 53: Chance

For the first time in my life, I give in. All strength leaves me, and my body falls sideways causing the scythe to swing past my face without even grazing me. The blade slams into the rock beneath me and snaps on the stone, launching the blade into the shin of the man. He howls in agony before his legs buckle.

At the end of his howl, he falls onto me. As I submit to my exhaustion, Deluge takes over with a wicked cackle of his voice.

I’ve come to live another day.

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The idiot falls on me before I grip to him with the last vestiges of strength left in this body. My skin grows claws that tear through the leather he wears before they latch into the skin of the man. He screams in agony as my body assimilates his, yet all I do is laugh. I laugh without any reserve or pretense. I laugh until tears pour down the edges of my eyes and nothing of the man remains.

After my laughter finally dies down, I turn onto my side before I push myself upwards with a deep struggle. My limbs shake, but they press my heft upwards with only a few aching complaints. Once I’m up, I stand tall and gaze towards the priests who stand locked in place. They gaze at me with a fear I’ve now known twice in my lifetime - the fear of an undeniable death.

I was saved twice from such a fate, once by Jack and the other by that plague doctor’s stupidity, yet it is a feeling I’ve come to loath. I crack my neck as I consolidate the souls left in Petra’s gem. After I pry them from the mound of mush she became, I stumble towards the exit with the bundle in hand. Even with the nutrients of the plague doctor, I can only muster enough strength for hobbling away, let alone killing the group of twenty scientists.

I would eat Petra’s corpse, but everything inside her is a potent acid. The blood covering me isn’t hers. It’s my own from having my skin melted off. I find the sensation rather uncomfortable.

Regardless of my current weakness, I doubt those cowardly scientists will chase me after seeing what I’m capable of. I would enjoy killing them, but I need to rest. I need to heal. All the sustenance I gained from that doctor exists for movement rather than restoration, so I pace outside the room before I shuffle back onto the campus.

As I trek through the yellowed greenery, my mind dulls. Each step bleeds into the next. After an eternity of exhaustion, I reach the set of ornate stairs leading downwards towards our bastion. Finally.

I trek down each step as each movement tests my endurance. It takes a full hour before I reach the bottom of the steps, and after I reach into the cavern, I drag myself out until the group sees my shambling form.

Antoinette, Sophia, and Joan huddle in a group before Joan bursts into tears. Luke, Aether, and Razor glance upwards before Luke turns with a cold sheen of sweat forming on his him before he pukes to his side. I stumble for a step or two before Razor floats towards me with her humanoid form grabbing me under my shoulder. Her spikes left her as she approached, and after I float down, I turn towards Aether as I say while barely rasping my words,

“There’s a group of students near the eastern side of campus. Carry them towards the nearest family of theirs then return here.”

Aether opens his hands with his limbs shaking for a moment before I turn towards Luke and say,

“Have you and Antoinette decided on whether you’re going with me or not?”

Luke blinks for a few seconds before he says, “What happened?”

I breath a deep sigh before I say between ragged breaths, “The palisade...they did something to Petra. They deformed her...I killed her.”

He gasps for a moment before I turn towards Joan. Our eyes meet before I glance downwards and say, “I’m sorry.”

Ignoring my apology, Joan rushes over as she whimpers. She touches the side of my bloody cheek evoking a grimace of pain from me, so she jerks her hand back before she glances side to side. After a moment of her silent weeping, I say, “We will live, Joan. I won’t die from something like this.”

My voice’s hoarseness surprises even me, so I convince no one, not even myself. Joan breathes deep a few times as she borders complete collapse, so I reach a hand out towards her as I say, “Come now Joan, you’ve beaten me worse than this.”

A tense laugh escapes her lips before I smile and say, “Besides, I’m too numb to feel pain anymore. Hah, hah.”

Joan blinks for a moment before she says, “Are you...Deluge?”

I say, “Yes. Jack is the one who fought her. I regenerated him, and now he’s asleep. Before I do the same, I’d like to eat.” Joan grips her hands with a noticeable discomfort before Razor says, “I’m surprised you can still speak little one, but let me talk for you while you rest.”

She turns towards the others as she says,

“Joan, Sophia, gather what’s left of the stew from earlier. My children will collect him something as well.”

After a moment, Aether walks into the rooms he carved for us and carries out Sophia’s bed in his two enormous hands. He sets it near the dining table where Razor lays me down gently. I tell them that contact with the moss wouldn’t bother me, but Razor replies,

“It would bother me.”

After a minute of labored breathing, Antoinette and Joan carry a cauldron of the stew before they set it over the fire pit with red faces.

As they scramble in their attempt at lighting a fire underneath the makeshift oven, I say, “Just let me eat the stew. All I need is some form of sustenance for regeneration.”

After a moment, Joan says with her voice rattling, “You and Jack...You sound so different.”

I reply, “Hah. Consider the state I’m in before you pass any judgements.”

As I finish my words, she glances downwards for a moment. The atmosphere changes before they begin giving me bowl after bowl of soup. After twenty minutes of ingesting the food, my skin returns to normal before I re-absorb the blood all over me. The group’s jaws gape at the sight, but I ignore them until after I finish the soup.

After a veil of quiet falls onto room, I shatter it as I say to Luke, “You and Antoinette...You should both leave this life before it consumes you.” I turn towards the others as I say, “You all should.”

A rigid tenseness falls on the group before I say, “Allow me to explain further. Jack fought a monster, and after we’d regenerated countless times, we defeated it. He and I found so little stamina left after the battle that I could hardly move after Jack fell unconscious. We lived through the ordeal by luck and will alone.”

I blink for a moment while I say, “I struggle to empathize with others, as you’ve all noticed, yeteven I could not ignore the pain he faced. I could barely keep up with mending the broken bones and torn organs as Jack destroyed the shadow that was left of his mentor.”

I close my eyes before I turn towards them all. Joan shivers in her seat as she grabs my hand while sophia tears up at her side. Luke and Antoinette stare with a deep concentration while Aether’s left shoulder twitches every few seconds. Razor simply stares down before I continue,

“It was difficult, even for me.”

After a few minutes of sitting in the heavy atmosphere, Luke stands up while grabbing Antoinette’s hand. He says with a jittery voice, “I...I don’t think we’ll join you and Jack...I want to help, but we just...I can’t be like you.”

I gaze at him,and after a moment, I say, “Then live out your little life in peace.” After hearing my own words, they sound bitter, so I continue, “Out of all the friends Jack made during his stay here at Mareovosa, you were his closest. Well, besides Joan, though that goes without my saying.”

Luke grins for a moment before he glances down and says, “Tell him I said goodbye...”

I stare right into his eyes as I say, “Why won’t you do so yourself?”

Antoinnette stammers after a tense second of waiting, “We need to ward our families. Who knows how the palisade will react to all this.”

Without sympathy, I say, “You both...You’re afraid of him now, aren’t you?”

Antoinnette glances at the ground as she says, “Yeah.”

After glancing at both of their pitiful frames, I glance towards the ceiling while resting my head on the pillow behind me while saying, “It is better to be alive and afraid then brave and dead. Anyone who says otherwise has never fought for their life. Be grateful that you both are sane cowards.”

I turn back towards Aether and say, “I thought you’d be more receptive to the idea of carrying them. If you don’t want to, I can after I’ve replenished myself. I’d rather leave here soon however. There is no reason to stay any longer.”

As I say so, Aether shakes from his petrification before he turns towards me and says, “No, I...I have never seen you so injured. I could not control my reaction for a few moments. I will carry them. You rest until you're healed.”

I grin as I say, “Excellent. Try not to frighten the students too much would you? They nearly died of fright from having Jack sneak up on them, never mind a hulking behemoth of rock. You’ll be able to find them, right?”

Aether nods and says, “Luke and Antoinnette, are you ready to leave?”

They nod with a shade of shame oozing from them both before Aether turns towards their rooms, and as he walks away, his steps tread without the absurd booming of before. He’s learned how to measure the impact of his stomps, and by bending his knees and distributing his weight, he creates a slight rumble instead. It’s a pleasant change.

After he leaves with that slight rumble behind him, Joan releases my hand before she glances at me with keen eyes. After her surveyance, she says, “I see you still haven’t found any clothes worth wearing.”

I nod before my vision fades. I murmur in response, “I’m tired Joan.”

She places a hand on my forehead before she says, “Just sleep...we’ll talk after you wake up.”

My eyes close as she strokes the short trim of my hair from my forehead.

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I open my eyes while standing with the same form that Jack described me in during our last dream. I snap my fingers for a moment, testing my fingers and other joints before I glance around. As I do so, I find Jack sitting cross legged on the floor a few feet away. I walk over before I sit beside him and say,

“You seem weary.”

He nods his head before we sit there for several minutes until I continue saying, “Would you prefer silence then?”

He looks down for a moment before he looks me in the eye, and I notice a subtle change in him. He seems less human than before, like he detached himself even further from who he once was, but the subtle difference comes with a key change. He’s past a certain horizon, a point of no return. As he has stared at the abyss for far too long, and instead of finding himself lost within its dark depths, he has become the depths he fears. He has become a monster in his own right.

After a few seconds of his piercing yet gentle stare, he says, “I’d rather speak with someone, if you wouldn’t mind a conversation.”

I cross my fingers before saying, “I suppose I could keep you company, since there’s nothing else to entertain myself with.”

The smallest beginnings of a grin forms on his face as he says, “Thank you the opportunity, your majesty.”

He glances downwards before he takes a deep breath and closes his eyes for a mere second. Afterwards, he shakes his head before he stands while saying, “That was a hard fought battle.”

As if adding a key detail to a factual discussion, I frown as I say , “We are lucky we live.”

He shakes his head before he says, “I doubt any luck blessed us. It was our opponent’s own misfortune.”

I nod before I stand with him. After I crick my neck, I say, “I’d love to chat, but it’s about time we awaken. We have no time to rest at least not now.”

Jack rolls his shoulders for a moment before he pops a finger with his thumb as he says, “We can’t afford to lay idle. Those who fail to move die. Let’s stay alive.”

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Soft moss and the dim glow of a charged alexandrite blankets the walls as I lay in our room. It surprises me whenever I open my eyes instead of Jack, but considering how he faced the brunt of the battle, he should rest far more than I.

I glance around for a few moments before I lift myself from the bed with a groan. This body seems heavy, almost as if they fed me while I slept. They must've done so until my body stopped accepting the food. In other words, they ran out of food to give.

As I stand, I pace over towards the loaded gem where I find the satisfied soul of three violet cavebats. They float inside the crystal without a worry, so I leave them there. They are satisfied, and the light they give will prove useful. I will consolidate them, but not until after they’ve served their purpose.

I pick up the gem before I walk outside my room by sliding the plate covering it. I stretch my arms for a moment before I glance around. Sophia and Aether stand beside a carving in the wall while Razor floats under the rays of the glowing gems above.

As I approach them, the gentle shake of my steps lets them know of my presence, so Sophia and Aether turn towards me. After Sophia’s customary smile and Aether’s increase in glow, Razor turns over towards me before she rests her head on her hands as they float on air. I grin as Sophia’s smile dampens. She must have recognized me.

As I reach them, Aether says with a courteous opening of his palm, “It is good to see you again, Deluge.”

I nod before I say, “How long was I in a coma?”

Sophia replies, “Three days. You weren't out that long compared to before.”

I nod to her before lean onto a knee beside the the wall they’ve carved. While stroking the stone with my fingertips, I say, “What might this be?”

Aether says, “A work of art to pass the time before we leave. We were waiting on you to awaken.”

I raise my eyebrows before I say, “This is rather intricate, especially considering how massive your hands are...Impressive.”

Sophia grins before she says, “I studied sculpting before we left Mareovosa since it’s necessary for soul forging. I showed Aether some techniques and gave him a few ideas, though he’s obviously talented.”

I squint my eyes at a tower covered in ivy with flowers entwined on each curve of the vines. Even after glancing around at each piece of the 15 foot wide rectangle of stone, I find miniscule elements of detail and garnish for the scene of a man climbing a brick tower towards the sun over his head. The journey appears long and arduous, yet the scene shows his perseverance more so than his struggle. The work inspires and emboldens.

I quite like the piece, so I say, “What inspired you Aether?”

He replies, “You and Jack did. This is a parting symbol of what you’ve given and what you wish to gain.”

A genuine grin creases my cheeks before I glance at him and say, “I suppose it does Jack and I justice. I would expect nothing less.”

Sophia stares with open shock before she sputters, “Why didn’t you insult him like you insult me?”

I turn towards her and raise an eyebrow before I say, “I only disdain those deserving. Aether created a marvel of artwork. Who am I to insult it when even the shortest glance evokes emotion?”

She rolls her eyes before she crosses her arms while saying, “Whatever.” She uses her eyes to point towards Joan’s room before she says, “It’s almost morning. Joan mentioned she wanted to give you something and talk about Petra whenever you woke up.”

Before I turn towards the room, I choose my words like a man avoiding traps in a labyrinth,” Sophia...We need to talk about what happened on the campus.”

She blinks for a moment and lets her arms rest at her sides as she says, “What about it.”

I tilt my head towards her room as I say, “Let’s speak elsewhere.”

After we reach into her room, I say, “The campus...Nothing is left. The palisade, they purged everyone. I know you only had a few people you cared about, but,”

I place a hand on her shoulder as Jack would while I say, “Alistair has passed. I’m sorry for your loss.”

Sophia blinks for a moment before pools of tears form in her eyes without her expression changing. Her body reacts before her mind even accepts what happened. She understood that this may happen, but she never truly believed it. Unfortunate.

She shakes her head for a moment and says, “But, he was a professor at the most prestigious university...There’s no way. The king would protect him...How?”

“He was a victim of the church’s purging. They hold more power than the kingdom by far. If they order for the purging of a capital, it shall be so.”

She blinks for a moment as the tears spill from her eyes. She mumbles, “I don’t understand...He didn’t...”

I breath out a sigh before I say, “Alistair died as a true martyr. He left in you his legacy. He left in you the power to bring the dreams he had in life into reality. He left you the strength to persevere through this pain, this turmoil.”

Mimicking the gestures of Jack, I pull her towards me with a stiff and awkward embrace before I say, “I know my words may not carry the same weight as Jack’s, but understand that you can give meaning to his suffering. You can give meaning to his death. Overcome this undertaking. Continue marching forward, with one foot in front of the other.”

Without any other option, she pounds her fists against my stomach as she screams in frustration. Her anger peaks before she leans against me while weeping. Her frail form shivers with anguish, and after many minutes, she still cries like a young girl who lost her mother.

Her face deforms until she clings with shaking hands. She wails with both torment and excruciation, and I listen. I absorb her fury. I assimilate her torture. She adds fuel to the spiteful fire I carry, and as her cries becomes weaker, the coals of hatred within me burn brighter.

The palisade will bend and break. They will suffer. They will die while drowning in regret.

As her cries stop, I release her from my grasp before she stares at the ground and says, “Thank you...”

Expunging my wrath, I give her a derisive grin before I say, “The weak lean on the strong.”

She looks up at me before she rolls her eyes and says, “I take it all back. You still suck.”

“Hah, I see you're still alive underneath all that grief then. Keep it that way.”

She blinks before she says, “I wonder if this is what Jack meant when he said you were his friend.”

Her words catch me by surprise before I gaze at the Aether’s carving and say with a quick snap to my words, “If you were sullen the entire trip, then you would lower moral. That is why I helped you.”

She giggles before she says, “Whatever.”

The look in her eyes irritates me to no end, so I shuffle away before I turn and walk towards Joan’s room for several steps. Before I reach into her room, I glance back and say, “Ah, yes. You’ve cultivated Aether’s talent well. In my eyes, you’ve ascended from a worm to a mouse. Good work.”

She sighs before she shoos me away with her hand as she says, “That’s what I expected. Go and bother Joan.”

I chuckle for a moment before I open Joan’s door with a slow grind of the plate. By the time I finish the act, Joan rises from her bed and glances around with tired eyes. As she spots me, she jumps from the bed before she tackles my chest and hugs me.

I return the gesture as I grin, and I let her live in her daydream for a moment before she glances up at me. As our eyes meet, my canines flare while I say, “Hoping for Jack I suppose?”

She releases me as she jumps backwards while I laugh at her discomfort. She sighs afterwards before she says, “I wouldn’t lie and say I wasn’t, but it’s better to see you then watch you both sleep all the time.”

I raise an eyebrow while leaning on the wall while I say, “Wait until after we’ve spoken more before you're grateful for my presence.”

She shrugs before she says, “Eh...I mean Jack likes you, right? You can’t be all bad.”

“His perspective is rather warped.”

She purses her lips before she says with a raised eyebrow, “Hmmm...Maybe.” She grins with a wry smile as she teases, “I think I’ll trust him on this one.”

I yawn before I say, “So Sophia told me you wished to speak of something. What is it?”

She grins before walking over towards a dresser and opening it. She pulls a black sort of skin that’s been cut into an outfit. As I observe what appears to be black leather, I find minute scales instead of the dry, cracking skin I expected. As my expression changes, Joan grins as she says,

“Amazing isn’t it. Do you remember how Luke told you he’d be giving you a set of clothes from his family? This is what he was able to get. It’s hydra skin.”

I raise an eyebrow, expressing my confusion before she continues, “The hydra’s a fully grown flesh viper. Their skin’s ridiculously expensive, but after Luke told me that you gave him the fassar cloak, his family felt obligated.”

As she hands the large outfit to me, I say, “I suppose he already left then? It’s a shame Jack never had the opportunity to say thank you.”

“What about you?”

I turn my eyes towards her as I say, “I’ve no need for clothes. I could grow them from my own skin.”

She winces for a moment before she replies while her voice stutters, “I-It’s nice to have options though.”

After taking the skin from her, I turn the black fabric before I pull on the shoulder pads and a snug resistance pulls back. As they skin stretches, blood red skin shows between the scales. After I blink for a moment, I reply, “Hmmm...I suppose so...”

I remove my cloak revealing all of me before Joan averts her gaze. She stumbles back before I say, “Does this form disgust you, or would you rather me wear the skin of another animal to cover my own?”

She mumbles, “Just cover yourself. It’s embarrassing.”

I laugh before I walk up to her, but she steps back as I approach until she meets the wall behind her. As her back plants onto the stone, I push a hand against the rock beside her face as she glances up towards me. I gaze down at her as I say, “Do I make you uneasy? Come now, I won’t bite.”

As I finish my words, I bite down with just enough force for a light tap of my teeth. Her heart rate skyrockets as she blushes for a moment before I laugh and walk away. Her ragged breathing relaxes as I put on the skin over my own skin, and a strange sensation envelops me.

The tiniest of spines try piercing my skin before I allow them to, and as they pierce, they drain a very small amount of my blood from me. I turn towards Joan as I say, “So is the armor vampiric?”

She blinks for a moment before she says, “Ahem...This is fresh skin. If it was older, it wouldn’t have that prickly feeling, but finding a well maintained and older pair of hydra skin is very rare. They got you this newer armor because of that.”

As she explains, my blood takes over the still living nerves and cells of the skin before my flesh grafts to the scales. I stare at the glove before I grin and clamp the skin in my hand. The material bends while being as hard as steel. Excellent.

Numerous belts taper around the hip allowing the convenient attachment of wineskins or sheaths for swords. A hood along the back allows for some measure of secrecy when moving out in the open and a set of spiny ridges along the back allow the attachment of a knapsack. With genuine appreciation, I say, “Quite the unique set of clothing...I’ll be able to regenerate it since it’s still alive.”

With a broken sort of grin, she says, “Ugh...That’s perfect considering how tattered your other outfits became. You tend to get beat by more than just me.”

I place a hand on my chin as I stare at the ceiling and say, “Hmmm, as I recall it, you’ve lost to Jack each and every time you fought.”

She shakes her head as she says, “Tsk, tsk, that was before I got this new ability. Besides, that was always two versus one. You can’t call that a fair fight.”

I shrug as I say, “Excuses have a way of always sounding bitter.”

She leans on a hip as she says, “Let’s just say this one’s bittersweet, for me at least. Regardless, I got the ability to use the gems grafted under the white mark for gemchaining...Well, more like soul forging.”

My shoulders tense while my open eyes become slits as I say, “I won’t accept gemchaining any longer in any form.”

She leans backwards for a moment before she realizes my intent, so she raises her palms towards me as she says, “Oh no, this, ugh, I don’t burn the souls. Sophia and I tried storing a few in the gems in my arms, and after she put them there, I could use them for enchanting my own arm like a sword.”

I cross my arms before I tap my left forearm with my right hand. After a pause for thought, I say, “So you never destroy them?”

She nods as she lowers her hands before she says, “They just make any part of me with the white mark on it stronger.”

“Interesting...Would you mind demonstrating?”

She shrugs before she says, “I’m still not used to it. The first time I did this I nearly dislocated my shoulder, so it may take a while.”

I say, “I’ve got all the time in this world to wait.”

She inhales a large breath before she closes her eyes, and the mark on her side starts radiating the faintest of glows. After several minutes of focusing, the mark shines bright with her white hair reflecting the light with it’s own sheen. After she opens her eyes, a cocky grin traces up her lips as she says,

“Impressed?”

I return that same grin before I say, “The souls within you seem comfortable...I suppose the slight alterations I made towards your biology kept you from deforming as Petra did.”

The glowing ceases in an instant as she says with a near panic, “What do you mean deforming?”

“All normal creatures were made with the intent of carrying one soul inside. If you shove more than one, the body rejects and separates each component until pieces of your body grow in the shape the soul wants. It will leave you a shambling freak after only a few minutes.”

Her panic grows to a frenzy before I continue, “This will never occur to you. I fixed the jeweled graftings under your skin using my own biology. That is why your skin changed its color. You won’t have extra organs hanging from your arm at any point.”

I grab my chin as she sighs in relief before I say, “Though I never expected you to figure out what the palisade had intended for you on your own. You even learned to control its influence. Remarkable.”

Joan grins before she puts hand on her hip while saying, “You mustn't know me very well then.”

I shrug before I say, “Perhaps I have misjudged you. You’ve became more than worthless. You defied my expectations.”

She rolls her eyes before she says, “I see you haven’t lost your sense of humor.”

“Hah, hah, I see you haven’t gained one either.”

A ight grin grows on her lips before I stretch my new coat by lifting my arms overhead. The skin reveals tiny strips of the dark red between the scales before I say, “Sophia also mentioned something about you speaking about Petra.”

She glances downwards before she bites her lip and balls her fists. After her attitude shifts, she starts speaking, but I cut her off by saying, “If it’s important, wait until after Jack awakens. He should hear this from you.”

She blinks for a moment before she says while crossing her arms, “Hehe, yenno, your just a big softie underneath all that stone you put up.”

I roll my eyes before I say, “I just don’t want to repeat your words to Jack myself. It is for efficiency, not sentimentality.”

“Ah yeah, sure, sure. Of course.”

A very slight pang of frustration forms before I say, “Then there exists no other reason to speak with you. Goodbye.”

She leans up to me while glancing upwards as she says, “Ah, but I’m just starting to have fun.”

I open the door before I close it as she giggles. The way that conversation turned was surprisingly infuriating.

Afterwards, I watch Aether and Sophia as he finishes carving into stone while Sophia instructs him on different aspects of the design. They finish their project within two hours while I watch in silence before Sophia says towards Aether, “I’m getting hungry. Care to take a break for a bite to eat?”

Aether replies, “As you wish, milady.”

She giggles before she turns around and jumps after seeing my in the hydra skin. She puts a hand over her chest before she says, “How long have you been there?”

I raise an eyebrow as I lay on my side with my head propped on my arm as I say, “Hmmm...About two hours.”

She blinks before she turns towards Aether and says, “Did you notice him walk over here?”

He shakes his head before I tilt my head back and laugh. I finish my chuckling before I stand and say, “When should we leave then?”

She turns towards Aether before she says, “After we finish eating if you’d like.” She turns to her side before she says, “Too many memories here anyway. I think a change of pace would be good for us.”

I say, “Then let’s finish our meal.”

Sophia glances around before she shouts at Razor, “Hey, we’re about to leave. Didn’t you wanna speak with Jack, err, I guess Deluge before we left?”

Razor stretches midair before she floats down towards us as she says in her permeating voice, “Ah yes. Thank you for reminding me, Sophia.”

After she reaches me, she floats right beside me as she says, “Would you mind if I joined you on your journey as well?”

I frown before I say, “Why would you join us? You have a colony to attend to.”

She taps the edge of her glowing orb face-thing before she says, “It’s complicated.”

I point towards the table as I say, “Let’s eat as you explain.”

After we set up the table with the same rock bowls as before, we eat a similar stew, though without meat before Razor starts her story,

“Over the last week, I birthed our colony’s next heir.”

I nod as Razor continues over Sophia’s gasp, “She is a strong, able offspring, but two queens cannot control the same nest.” She tilts a hand outwards while saying, “Normally I would crush her in battle before she went off on her own to find her own cove, but after my failure with Kara, I don’t know if I’m prepared to lead us into the future.”

I shrug as I say, “Kara’s mind was twisted beyond recognition. You cannot blame yourself for what he did to himself.”

She shakes her featureless face before she says, “He left after I allied with those humans. If you had known him before his fall, you would understand my worry. He was a kind and powerful warrior. He did not fight against my decision out of spite or rage. He did it out of a desire for uplifting our colony.”

Razor stares at the ground before she says, “If I cannot listen to someone with so much potential for good, then who am I to lead so many children? Who am I to control them when there is another so willing to take my place?”

Interrupting her self loathing, I say, “You are Razor. Nothing more. Nothing less.”

She glances towards me before I continue my words, “You can choose to leave or stay. I will not stop you...Do as you wish. I expect nothing more nor less.”

She places her fingers on the side of her head as she loses herself in thought for a few seconds. After her contemplation, she looks towards me before grabbing the sides of my cheeks as she says,

“You are wise, for a child.”

I laugh before I say, “Insight is not measured in the number of years you’ve lived.”

She tilts her head for a moment before she releases me and for the first time, I hear her giggle. She says, “You may be right, little one.”

She turns towards Sophia as she says, “You wouldn’t mind me joining you, would you?”

Sophia looks towards Aether before she says, “I don’t know, you look pretty conspicuous.”

Aether nods before he says, “Your outgoing appearance would expose us...”

After a second of Razor appearing confused, Sophia and I laugh before Aether gives his own mild chuckle. Razor taps where a cheek would normally be before she says, “Ah, I see, it is the irony that gives the situation humor.”

Joan walks up from the table behind us before she says, “Mind if I join up?”

Sophia grins at her as she says, “Come on. Grab a bowl. There’s plenty left.”

As she finishes her words, Sophia elbows my side before Jack stirs from his slumber. I grin for a moment before I turn towards the table and engulf the stew before me. Joan turns towards me and says with a sly grin,

“So you’re who Jack learned his atrocious table manners from.”

I roll my eyes before I say, “Say that after spending minutes on a task I accomplished in mere seconds.”

She grabs a fork before she says while glancing at her stew, “Sometimes, you gotta learn to slow down.”

Her words remind me of other times before I reply, “Hmm. Who told you that?”

She raises an eyebrow before she says, “Heh, you did.” She bites the food from her spoon before she says, “Well, sort of.”

I nod before Sophia strikes up a conversation about the mural Aether created, and after many minutes of discussion about the intricate details of the project, Jack reaches towards me and thinks, “How is everyone?”

I say, “They’re fine. Joan wanted to talk with us about Petra and Luke gave us these new clothes.”

Jack says, “These aren’t really clothes anymore.”

“Details, details. Regardless, I’m tiring of this constant discussion. If you’d like to join them, then be my guest.”

“Let’s wait till later. I’d rather us not jump into conversations like that. They may come to expect us swapping for even simple discussions at some point.”

I reply, “They likely do already.”

Whipping out his words with a quick snap of wit, Jack says, “Then let’s break that habit.”

I grin as I think towards him, “That involves me listening to more mindless chatter.”

“You don’t have to be their friends. If you don’t want to talk to these people more than necessary, I don’t mind. This is your time to do with as you wish. Enjoy it.”

As he ends his words, I glance around the table where I notice bowls still full of food after minutes of eating, so I stand up and say aloud, “The meal’s quality was acceptable, but my appetite remains unsated. I’m leaving for my own supplementation.”

As I turn around, Joan says, “Come now. Are you tired of us already?”

I gesture a hand backwards as I say without stopping, “I exhausted my tolerance hours ago. If you’ll excuse me.”

She giggles before I lower my hand and pace above the stairs towards the forest. Two large packs loaded with supplies sit between two trees with one far larger than the other. They must plan on Aether and I being the beasts of burden for this trip.

I can understand their sentiment considering how fragile and flimsy those two are. After I inspect the contents, I dash around the forest where I hunt down several rabbits and a deer before I find an animal that Jack describes as a bear.

It raises onto its hind legs at around 9 feet in height, but I dodge the swipe of its paw before I force my hand through its stomach and up until I grab its lower jaw. I rip the bone while tearing through its sternum, killing the creature instantly. The meat proves far more delicious than the other animal’s flesh since this carnivore carries far more fat on its frame.Bycomparison, the other creatures hold the most minute of excess adispose under their skin.

After I finish crunching through the bones, I return towards the encampment where I find the four members chatting beside a fire. Aether already carries his pack while Joan and Sophia sit on his shoulders. Razor even refined her form somewhat so less colossal sabers jut from her body, though she still carries several spinning orbs with blades behind her. With the way our group looks, we won’t be able to use roads.

That doesn’t matter. Ever since our battle started with the palisade, I never expected a courteous journey across the routes of the kingdoms we’d enter. Pacing through the uninhabited areas ensures our privacy, and considering how an entire religion has condemned me, I doubt the others will disagree.

As I approach, I snap a branch underfoot before the group turns their heads towards the noise. Sophia calls out, “What’s taken you so long?”

I reply, “During our battle with Petra, we lost several hundred pounds of our body mass since she tore it off. I hunted several animals in order to replace that.”

The atmosphere alters in an instant as the others glanced down before I walk beside them and lift my own pack off the ground. After a moment of waiting for the others, I interrupt their drab silence,

“Why are you all so grim and morbid over the issue? We had to kill her and we paid at price in blood. It matters little to me. I just replaced it within a few hours.”

Joan bites her lip before Razor floats downwards while saying, “Perhaps a little less bluntness will aid you in your discussion. I understand what you mean, but that kind of topic...It comes with problems.”

I roll my eyes before I say, “As will this journey ahead of us. If you can’t handle a few coarse words than the roads ahead will rip the skin from your heels. Come, we need to move.”

Joan blinks for a moment before she says, “To where?”

I turn towards her and grin, “To the capital of the empire, Nelastra.”