My WIP

[LandriC]

@kyronthearcanin

I just love how he can’t decide whether to be super tough or his regular self XD

"To death or to victory"

[Ava Murbarger (Solfyre)]

@landric

Yeah he has himself pretty confused. I wrote WAY too much backstory on him but maybe it paid off this time XD

Follow your heart, but take your brain with you.

[Ava Murbarger (Solfyre)]

@thearcaneaxiom @keilah-h @gwyndalfthewise @landric

 

Here’s Chapter 5!

 

 

In my dream I’m running over snowy hills, the pads on my paws numb from the cold. The skies are gray, and snowflakes fall to the ground or bury themselves in my fur. As I run on all fours, I close my eyes and feel the wind whip around me. From somewhere a bright light flashes, maybe the sun peeking from behind the clouds?

I open my eyes.

The snow is gone. So are the hills. Lupus has changed into something darker, and lightning flashes around me. My paws sink into dark, damp grass. No. No, no, I can’t be back.

I breath in gasps, panicking. I turn in a quick circle. No sign of snow. I hear voices from behind me and whip my head around. Quelin is standing a few feet away, with a dozen soldiers behind him. I shake my head. “No,” I whisper, again.

He laughs, the first time I’ve really seen him try to smile through the fangs. It’s creepy, and I don’t like it. “Time to go back, halfling. Back to your room.”

I shake my head again and try to run, but I’m going slow, and it’s getting harder to breathe. The world darkens around me. I’m screaming over and over, but I can’t hear my own voice. The only sound is the Serpenree hissing. “Healer! Back to your post!”

The voice changes. “Rina! Rina, snap out of it!” I blink slowly, and Lacertilia blurs. “What is it with you?”

“What… With me?” The world comes back into focus. I’m on the ship, in the galley. Dune is standing a couple feet away, staring at me like I just grew wings. I look behind me, just in case. Nothing. I wipe a tear from my eye, wishing it were never there, and work to catch my breath. “It was a dream.”
He snorts. “A pretty bad one, considering you were in the corner whimpering. You sounded like a dog.”

I scowl. “What do you expect? I’m a Lupinari… Kind of.” I sniff. “Besides, the dream felt real. Too real. I was running, and then…” I stop with a sigh. “Nevermind.”

“A scary dream about running,” Dune says. “Got it. But I thought Lupinari were supposed to like running.” He’s obviously trying to make me laugh. I don’t. “Well… Do you want something to eat? You slept a while. Sorren said not to wake you, but you were kind of freaking out.”

I shrug. “I’m not hungry.”

“Okay,” Dune says. After hesitating for a moment, he sits down beside me. “Sorren’s pretty mad at me right now, if that makes you feel any better.”

“Why would that-” I hug my knees close. “No, it doesn’t. Why is he mad?”

“He thinks I’m putting you in danger,” Dune tells me. He’s looking away, but keeps glancing back at me, like he wants to see my expression. “That my family is too dangerous, and that I’m careless.”

I knit my eyebrows. “He’s wrong. You’re smart. Not careless at all.”

“I’m glad you think so,” Dune says, “but the old soldier doesn’t think of me that way.” He shrugs. “I thought about mentioning that I’m the one who got us off Lacertilia in the first place, but that would probably just tick him off.”

I nod. “Probably.” The galley still smells like burnt meat. “Sorry I wasn’t much help during the fight. Or when we were escaping.”

He waves a paw dismissively. “You’ve never fought before, and you’ve never piloted anything, much less a ship like this one. It’s understandable.” He grins and shoves my shoulder with his paw, and I try not to wince. “But you did take on Korwin. That was awesome.”

“It was crazy,” I reply, “and I almost blacked out again. I’m just glad Sorren got past those guards to help.”

Dune nods slowly. “Are the scratches feeling any better?”

I stretch out my arms and wince. “They still sting, but I think they’re healing. What about you? Any wounds I need to know about?”

“Not really,” he says. “My armor protected me pretty well. Sorren, too. We were just outnumbered.” He eyes my cloak. “We need to get you some kind of armor, too.”

I glance downward. It’s not that armor wouldn’t be helpful, but I feel that it would probably make me even more clumsy. Besides, I’m used to my cloak. It’s all I’ve worn for years now, and it’s familiar, even if it is in terrible shape. “Eventually, maybe. Right now I’m fine.”

“Okay.” Dune sweeps his tail over his paws. “So, this whole space thing is new to you? It’s pretty much all I’ve known.”

I smile. “It’s definitely new. I’ve never been outside Spearhead and the battleplains beside it. At least, not since I was younger and lived on Lupus.”

He grins. “Then I guess you don’t want to go outside the ship and fix up the damage, do you?”

I laugh. “No, I’d rather not.” I look down at his paws. “This might be kind of a weird question, but why do you always stand on all fours? Do all Felisaro do that? I haven’t been around them enough to tell, or even notice. They’ve been in battles, I’m sure, but I never really paid attention unless they were Lupinari, and was never close enough anyway.”

“Yeah,” Dune replies. “It’s not that we couldn’t if we really had to, but it’s really uncomfortable.” He raises his eyebrows. “You Lupinari and the Serpenree are the weird ones. Wolves and lizards aren’t supposed to stand on two legs. The Arcanin are just large bears, and the Falcor are large birds. Felisaro are like cats. But I guess you knew some of that.”

I make a face and shrug. “I knew, um, most of that. And we’re not just wolves. We look like wolves and can run like wolves, sure, but standing on two legs is just as normal. I’ve never seen a Serpenree on all fours, though.” I wrinkle my snout. “Actually, I can’t say I’ve seen other Lupinari on all fours, either.”

“Must be the armor,” Dune guesses. “Maybe it’s not made for them to be in that position. That, or you stand on all fours because you’re part Arcanin.”

I know I must be frowning. Does being on all fours just remind everyone I’m a halfling? I shouldn’t care, but I do. Dune is right. I’d much rather just be a normal Lupinari, or even an Arcanin, than a halfling. But I can’t help how I was born.

Dune waits a moment and then stands. “Alright, well, I’d better get going. Don’t want all our oxygen sucked out into space.”

I stare at him with wide eyes. “That could happen?”

He laughs. “No.” I shove him, but it just makes him laugh harder. “I’ll be out there. Knock on the wall really hard if you need something, and I might just be able to feel it.”

“Okay,” I reply. “I’ll go see if Sorren has cooled down yet.”

“Good luck.” Dune runs out of the room, his tail flying out behind him. After a moment, he reappears with an amused expression. “That was a joke. I won’t be able to feel you knocking.”

I raise my eyebrows. “Oh. I knew that.”

He grins and disappears out of the doorway. I sit in the corner for a moment, thinking. About the dream. About Dune and Sorren. About Quelin, and what he’ll do when he finds me. Then I stand up and go to look for Sorren, trying to push the thoughts from my mind.

When I find him, he’s stabbing his sword at an imaginary opponent, practically dancing around the room. I lean in the doorway, watching with a smile until he turns around, breathless. He cocks his head and his ears tilt as well. “What?”

I shrug and walk over to sit on his bed. “Didn’t know you could dance.”

“It’s called sword fighting,” he huffs. “And it’s important. Especially for a soldier. The air is probably a better opponent than Dune is, anyway.”

“He’s a better fighter than I am,” I point out. “And he was kind of our only way off of Lacertilia. Not to mention, he’s going out right now to patch up the ship before we land.”

Sorren shrugs. “His cousin also tried to kill us. This Felisaro has some really dangerous family by the looks of it, and he might be one of them.”

“Dune?” I raise an eyebrow. “Have you even seen him?”
Sorren sheaths his sword. “He’s nervous for a reason. Traitors are usually good actors, Rina. Everyone is hiding something, and only the Phoenix knows what.”

“Everyone,” I repeat. The only thing that I’ve ever really hidden is the fact that I’m a halfling, at least from those I could. Now that everyone knows, I’m no longer really hiding it, even if I wish I were able to. Is it bad to hide something like that? If it is, I don’t know if there’s anything worth hiding.

Except for a secret you don’t know the answer to. Unfortunately, the Serpenree didn’t seem to care. They tried their cloaked mind-readers on me, torture, long nights of hard work and no sleep. And all I could say over and over was, “I don’t know.” If I had lied, I know the punishment would have been even more severe.

Sorren waves a clawed hand in front of my face and smiles when I look up. “We’re almost to Aavian. Have you seen a Falcor before?”

I shrug. “No. But I’ve seen a Lupinari with wings. They must have been a Falcor halfling.”

“They’re pretty much just birds anyway,” Sorren says. “Kind of like how the Felisaro are large cats. But don’t tell them I said that. Although I have heard they’re very wise, especially their queen, Ashe.”

I cock my head. “Wise how?”

“Well, they’re pretty much at peace with every other race, which I can’t say for us Lupinari,” Sorren tells me. He frowns. “But sometimes peace isn’t the right thing. Being at peace with the Serpenree would be like giving up, and that’s one thing Lupinari never do.”

“Yeah,” I say halfheartedly. My tail flicks. Would I rather have peace with the Serpenree than be imprisoned? It’s a question I don’t want to answer. Maybe I’m more halfling than Lupinari after all.

Sorren and I wait in silence until Dune appears, panting. He waves us towards the front room with a paw. “Alright, I patched her up. We’re landing on Aavian soon.”
I follow him, shooting Sorren a look I hope means, “Don’t make trouble.” Unfortunately, I’m not sure if he gets it. His hand is on his sword as he trails me out of the bedroom, and his eyes are going anywhere but Dune. Why he’s so frustrated, I don’t know. We’re alive, after all, and that’s hardly short of a miracle.

“Alright, guys, Landing 101,” Dune says, turning to face us. He focuses on me, obviously choosing not to look at Sorren. “First of all, hold on to something, because these Serpenree ships are junk. Second, on the Ombryn I never even noticed the change in gravity. On here, I’m not sure, so be careful. Third, try not to get sick, because I’ll probably end up having to clean it up. Got that?”

I nod, putting my hands on either side of the doorway. Sorren leans against the wall, his hand still on the hilt of his sword. Most likely he’s landed like this a million times on a Lupinari ship. Or maybe he’s just cocky. Dune turns, flips a few switches, and bites down on a bar at the bottom of the dashboard for balance.

For a moment, nothing happens.

Then the ship tilts abruptly, and I have to dig my claws into the doorframe to stay on my feet. Sorren looks unfazed, but he braces himself with a hand on the wall. The ship shakes against the buffeting wind, and I accidentally bite down hard on my tongue. Wincing, I crouch close to the ground and wait out the ride, shutting my eyes tight. I definitely don’t want to see whatever is outside the window- Aavian soil, hurtling towards us.

In trying to forget the landing, my mind wanders back to the dream, and then Lacertilia. I wonder what Quelin is doing. Hunting me down? Or was he already punished? Despite the fact that he helped to trap me on that horrible planet, I feel bad for leaving him there. If he’d decided to help me, I probably would have let him come. Well, if Sorren would allow it. He would make this place seem more familiar- whether that’s good or bad, I’m not sure I can guess.

The ship jerks again, and for a moment my feet lift off the ground. I manage to push them down again and Dune grunts, speaking through the bar in his mouth. “Almost… there. Serpenree ships are the worst!”

Sorren is holding on to my door frame now. “Lupinari ships are only slightly better. I think maybe your Ombryn was one of a kind.”

Dune sighs, wrapping his paws around the bar for a better grip. “Course she was! She was home. But this ship does have one thing in common.”

“What’s that?” I ask, dizzy.

He presses a button and the ship starts to level out. “They were both stolen.”

Sorren blinks at him. “You’re saying the Ombryn was- You stole it?”

Gravity seems to pause, and I rise off the ground sharply, my head cracking against the ceiling. Sorren is gripping the wall, and all four of Dune’s paws are off the ground. He’s held in place only by the bar. Finally, the whole ship moans as we touch the ground. After a moment, gravity shifts back, and I fall flat on my back and let out a breathless laugh. “We made it!”

Dune is opening and closing his mouth. “Ack, ouch. Yes, we made it, no thanks to the ship. This one’s going to be the Urbrin.” When he sees me and Sorren waiting for an explanation, he grins. “Means ‘bad fortune.’”

Sorren shrugs. “Accurate, if not foreboding.” He shifts impatiently on his feet. “Can we get off of this ‘Urbrin’ now?”

I nod excitedly. My paws ache for the soft grass and dirt. Anything but the hard stone and metal I’ve known for so long. My eyes find Sorren’s boots. Halflings on Lacertilia never got to wear any kind of shoes, and almost half of the Serpenree chose not to. Quelin never quite got used to boots, and always squirmed in them. Even if they are protective, they look uncomfortable.

Dune pushes a button, and the doors slide open, sunlight pouring into the ship. “Yes, we can go. You two go ahead, and I’ll finish things up here.”

After smiling broadly at Sorren, I bound out of the ship. The sun almost blinds me, but I don’t care. I roll through the grass, then jump up and run, my paws pounding the ground. I’m on all fours, sprinting all out, slowed only by my wounded leg, and the sun fills me more than Lacertilian storms ever could. When I finally turn around, I’m a good distance from the ship. I sit in the tall grass, panting and breathing the sweet air.

As far as I’m concerned, Aavian is the most beautiful place I’ve ever seen. Blasyx bathes the stunning green hills in golden light, and a lake not far from where I’m sitting sparkles, brilliant blue. The few clouds in the sky are mere wisps, nothing like the angry gray monsters I’ve been accustomed to, the ones that drown the land in rain and use strands of light to destroy what they see fit. Despite my thick fur, this kind of warmth paired with a whispering breeze is more than welcome.

I push forward into a run, heading for the lake. It’s very nearly glowing, and I can almost smell the freshness of it. When I lean forward to drink, a shadow appears over me. Someone shoves me from behind, and I tumble in. Sputtering, I rise to the surface and splash a laughing Sorren. His armor shines, and his silver eyes are full of life when he laughs. We sit there, breathing hard and taking everything in, until Sorren turns somber again, and some of the light leaves his eyes.

“The Ombryn and the Urbrin,” he says. “Both stolen. How do you think that is?”
I run my paw through the water, knowing he wants to add more about Dune. At least he’s trying not to. “Well, it might not have been Dune that stole it. If it was, I’m sure he had a good reason.”

Sorren snorts. “I’m glad you have so much confidence in him.”

“Hold on,” I say, shaking my head. “Not right now. Not in this beautiful place. As far as we know, Dune is just a lonely Felisaro.”

“Maybe,” is all Sorren says.

I wait a moment before speaking again. “So, I guess ‘bryn’ means fortune. That would make ‘om’ good, and ‘ur’ bad.”

Sorren nods. “I wonder if the language is advanced, or just a few specific, more important words. I’d be curious to ask Dune, but I’m sure it’s some kind of Felisaro secret. After all, he seemed hesitant to tell us before.”

“You’re right,” I reply. “I wouldn’t ask him. He most likely wants to keep his past a secret for a little longer.”

Sorren nods thoughtfully. “Fine. But if that Felisaro gets us into any more trouble, I want some answers.” We sit in silence for a while, dragging our hands and making ripples in the water, before he speaks again. “So, where next?”

I look up at him and cock my head. “What do you mean, ‘next?’”

“Well, we have to go somewhere from here,” he points out. “If we stay here, the Serpenree will surely find us, sooner rather than later. That’s why Dune is planning on finding some fuel for the ship, right?”

“Right,” I agree hesitantly. I’d sort of hoped this would be the end of it. That we’d stay on this beautiful planet, where I could run and be free, and not have to worry about the Serpenree. Now that Sorren mentions it, I know it was foolish, but I can’t help it. Complete safety is out of the question.

I see my reflection in the water and realize I’m clenching my fists, my blue eyes practically glaring at the water. I swallow and try to calm my expression, letting my paws fall back into the water. Keep it together. You should have seen this coming. Halflings just don’t get normal lives. Guiltily, I realize I’ve sort of dragged Dune and Sorren into all of this.

My shoulders slump a little farther. “Yeah, I guess we’ll have to leave.”

“Not right away,” Sorren says quickly. “But if we stay too long, there’s a chance that you’ll be captured again, and neither of us want that.”

I nod. “I know. It makes sense, but I just thought that maybe we’d be okay for a while.”

“We will be,” Sorren tells me. “It’s just a precaution. But if you really want to stay, we could see if the Falcor will welcome us. And if that doesn’t work…” He thinks for a moment. “From there, our only options would be an audience with Ashe or a quick flight out of here.”

“Ashe?” I ask. “The queen? I wouldn’t know where to start.”

“It would be difficult, to be sure,” Sorren replies. “And even more so because we’re not with the ambassadors from Lupus. We would have to request a meeting with her, and news would travel quickly. Dune and I could most likely figure out the details, but if the Serpenree get wind of it, an ambush would become a possibility.”

I push my hands into the pockets inside my cloak. “So either we take a big risk, or we just delay it.”

“Unfortunately, yes.” Sorren smiles and looks up. “But for now, we get to enjoy this.” Hopping to his feet, he extended a hand. “Ready for a run? I’ll race you.”

I nod, letting him pull me to my feet. The breeze plays with my gray fur as we make our way to the top of a hill. “Wait,” I say, before he can start. “On all fours? I don’t know if it matters.”
“I suppose it doesn’t matter for you,” he replies. “It’s not all that comfortable for normal- I mean, full Lupinari. No offense.”

I grin at him. “None taken. Four paws is much faster anyway.”

On Sorren’s count, we race down the hill, the wind whipping my cloak out behind me like a wing. Sorren, even in all of his armor, is still faster than me, and I can tell he’s slowing down for my sake. Still, I’m too busy running to care, feeling the rhythm of my paws pressing against the ground, thrusting me forward.

Long before I’m ready to stop, Sorren slows, turning around. I turn a wide circle and catch up to him, and he smiles. “We have to go back, too, don’t forget. Dune will be leaving soon.”

I run alongside him back towards the ship. The grass brushes my paws, and sunlight seeps through my fur, the heat lessened by the light breeze. I can smell some plants similar to those in Spearhead, but others are new and exciting, new scents practically dancing in the wind for me to find.

If I close my eyes, I can imagine running over the hills on Lupus, snow coating my gray fur until the star on my head is indiscernible from the rest of my fur. In the scene, other Lupinari are running beside me. Other Lupinari, and a wolf so white, so large, that you would think he was…

An Arcanin. I open my eyes, and am back in Aavian. Where had the bear come from? After puzzling over it, I shake it from my mind. Just my imagination going wild. Some sliver of a realization that I’m a halfling, and maybe, just maybe, one of my parents was an Arcanin. That, or one of my grandparents, though that doesn’t seem right in my head. Somehow I’m sure of it. My father was an Arcanin. He had to be. So that would make my mother a Lupinari.

Somehow just thinking about them makes me forget all the trouble we’re in. I yearn to fly the Ulbryn to Lupus, the fastest way possible. I’ll take the ship all the way around Blasyx if I have to. I will find them, someday, if it kills me. A thought slips across my mind before I can stop it. Are they looking for me? The thought seems selfish. If I have any siblings, my parents are probably taking care of them. No matter what, I will find a way to my family, even if I have to face Dragor himself to do it.

As we draw nearer to the Ulbryn, Dune appears outside the ship, a kind of bag strapped to his back. “Back so soon? I  thought you’d have to run at least a dozen miles to be satisfied.” He doesn’t wait for an answer. “I’m going to find an Aavian city. It should only be a few miles away, if what I saw when we were landing was right. I’ll be back by nightfall, I think.”

I blink at him. “Oh, well, okay. Fuel, right? That’s what the bag is for?”
“Yes and no,” he replies. “We are getting fuel. Don’t want us running out. But the bag is nowhere big enough for that. I’ll have to find a way to transport it back here. The bag is just for holding the money.”

I nod slowly. While I almost want to go with him, to run, and to see an Aavian city, I don’t know if halflings would be welcome. On top of that, Sorren really would kill Dune if anything happened while we were gone.

Sorren starts walking backwards towards the ship. “You go ahead. I’m going to shower.” He points at me. “Don’t get yourself into trouble, but you can stay out here.”
“Oh,” I say. “Thanks, I guess.”

Thanks for the permission, I think, a little bitterly. Immediately I shake the thought from my mind. Sorren is just trying to help, to protect me. And if I’m honest with myself, I probably need it. I’ve never exactly been able to go wherever I wanted. If I weren’t so sure that he was an Arcanin, Sorren could easily have been my father.

When Sorren is out of sight, Dune hops from paw to paw, then stretches, sending a quiver all the way to the tip of his tail. “Oh, this is going to be a long walk. My paws haven’t been this sore in a long time.”

“Good luck,” I say. “Don’t get captured. I don’t want to have to come save you.”
Dune grins. “Like you could. See you tonight, Rina. Hopefully.”

“Right. Wait here a second.” Running back inside the ship, I grab a jar from my satchel and return to Dune, shoving it into the bag strapped to his back. It’s filled with shimmering green powder, the same emerald color as Dune’s eyes. “Here. Open it and launch it at someone if you get into a fight. Should burn their eyes, if it doesn’t blind them temporarily. Also, you can use it to disinfect cuts, but I’m kind of hoping it keeps you from getting hurt in the first place.”

Dune nods. “I had the same idea. Me getting hurt is never good.” He turns and starts walking, in a direction where all I can see are hills and more hills until finally there stands a line of trees. “Thanks. See you later.”

I wave slightly, then, after realizing he can’t see it, slowly lower my hand. “Bye.”

After watching him crest a hill and disappear, I turn around  and walk slowly back to the lake, making sure I keep an eye on the ship. The Falcor patrol is long gone, and I’m left alone, which is new. The only time I was ever alone on Lacertilia was in the heated white room I was forced to live in.

My ears prick, taking in the sounds around me. The faint sound of Sorren humming something in the ship, the whisper of a breeze, and… wings flapping? I stand up, sniffing the air. Could it be a Falcor? If so, the wing beats are irregular, oddly spaced out, like the bird is struggling to fly. Walking towards the source of the noise, at first I don’t spot anyone. The sound is coming from just right of the ship, near a small hill, so I continue on.

Stopping just before the top of the hill, I tap my paw on the ground. If this Falcor- or whoever it is- is dangerous, then I should probably wait for Sorren. Then again, if I waited, the stranger could go get reinforcements to check out our ship. Setting my jaw, I walked over the highest point of the hill.

Standing a few yards away, flapping furiously, is a hawk-like Falcor. He has white patches of feathers around his yellow eyes, a sharp, curved beak, and black spots on his white wings and tail. The rest of his feathers are red-brown, speckled with black here and there, and he has some kind of tube strapped to his back. When he sees me, he stops flapping and waves with a wing, folding in the other.

“Hey! I knew I’d find someone.” He walks towards me. He has long, yellow legs with two claws at the end of each. His head tilts, curiously, but not suspiciously.“Wait. What are you doing on Aavian?”
I shift on my paws, wishing I’d waited for Sorren. “We had to,” I blurt out. “Our ship was running out of fuel. But I promise we won’t stay long. Well, not too long, anyway.”

“Interesting.” The Falcor half closes one eye. “Well, if it wouldn’t be too much trouble, do you have any medical supplies on that ship of yours? I’ve injured my wing.” He raises an eyebrow, a twinkle in his eye. “I promise I won’t stay long.”

I nod, even though I know Sorren won’t like it. The Falcor seems too honest to be trouble, and he’s on his own. “Yeah. Stay as long as you want. I’m actually a healer.” I tilt my head towards the ship. “There’s another Lupinari in there right now, and our Felisaro will be back tonight, but it’s just the three of us. There are eight beds if you’d like to stay, but I’m not sure how long we’ll be staying.”

“Thank you!” he exclaims. He gives me a clumsy half-bow, nearly tripping over his injured wing. “I’m Arew.”

Amused, I match his bow. “I’m Rina. The Felisaro is Dune, and the soldier in there is Sorren.” I laugh lightly, beginning to walk towards the Ulbryn. “You might have to get ready for some interrogation from Sorren, but I don’t think Dune will mind.”

Follow your heart, but take your brain with you.

[TheArcaneAxiom]

@kyronthearcanin

Sorry I took so long to finally take the time to read this.

Chapter 4 Looks good, but a few things:

The way your referring to time on Lacertillia is very confusing, as it doesn’t seem to regard it as a planet orbiting a sun. There would be no peak point for the sun to rise, that’s only meaningful on a local scale on the planet, so you can’t say peak in reference to the whole planet. You would need to add time zones or something for this to make sense. That being said, there are many worldbuilding concepts you can dive into for this where time in relation to the sun operates completely differently, or perhaps Lacertillia is primarily uninhabitable, save for a particular region making reference to a sun rising and falling on a planetary scale make sense.

The choices that were made here could have been made, but they were not very smart choices, and should probably have been recognized as such at least afterwards. The tactics Sorren was trying to implement can be used in many situations of making your opponent too angry to think clearly, making them easily manipulated, despite being better equipped. However in this situation, even though it may have worked out, it wasn’t a smart decision. They have no allies right now, and this large ship loaded with many well equipped soldiers is boarding them (I still have problems with the Felisaro’s technique with holding things with their mouths, actually making Sorren’s idea much more viable, but ignoring that), making them angry isn’t the way to go. This can be useful against a single large opponent, using their size against them, but many opponents all at once, you will want to act diplomatically until violence is the only option. Even though it all worked out, they now have made a big enemy of the Felisaro, something that could have been avoided, even if it was a small chance. Though the ship was coming for them, Dune provoked them first to violence, so I also want to talk about Rina saying that Korwin having evil eyes. Korwin was heavily provoked with verbal attack, so it is obvious that he would come in with a great amount of anger if he really is a hot headed general. This is not to say Rina shouldn’t feel this way, because this may be part of her imperfect character, but her thoughts of him being evil after they attacked first leading him to anger shouldn’t be regarded as objectively correct with what little we know of Korwin, not to say that is what your intending, but I’m just pointing that out. Ultimately everything that occured works, because it creates further tension and drive, but I think one of the characters should point out that perhaps it could have been handled a little better afterwards.

I like chapter 5, all I would mention really is that their going to have trouble convincing the Falcor to take them in after they not only have a huge price on their heads being chased down, but also shown themselves to be dangerous and violent. You may already have this figured out, and have that planned for later, but I thought I ought to ask about it. I’ve been enjoying it though, the characters have been a lot of fun so far!

He is perfect in Justice, yet He is perfect in Mercy, even when we fail Him. For this, He is good.

[Ava Murbarger (Solfyre)]

@thearcaneaxiom

Yeah, that time thing was confusing, lol. I just looked back at it. I guess I was thinking of her specific point on Lacertilia, Spearhead, so I should probably get that changed XD. Thanks for catching it!

The thing about the tactics comes up a little bit later, but it still is strange. I’m thinking if I do have it happen in a final draft, it wouldn’t be Sorren’s idea, because he is a trained soldier. Dune probably would have thought of it, as Rina wouldn’t have been as offensive. And for the evil eyes thing, it was a more ‘from Rina’s perspective’ kind of thing. The reason for their offense in the long run would be because Dune knows Korwin well enough to know what he would do to them, but I probably need to show that more.  All in all, I think I was too busy trying to get to that

And yeah, the Falcor don’t immediately welcome them, but that comes into play later. Arew may or may not betray them later… (kind of figuring it out as I write, lol. Sometimes I wonder why I’m so much of a pantser… XD)

Thanks!

Follow your heart, but take your brain with you.

[TheArcaneAxiom]

@kyronthearcanin

Yeah, that makes sense. Again, I like it because it does drive the plot, but it would be good for the characters to recognize their mistakes. It would make sense for Dune, because of his anger and frustration with Korwin, and Rina makes sense, I just wasn’t sure if you were meaning for her to actually be correct in her perception, or if it was just her perception. Yeah, I’m really in the middle right now when it comes to being a plotter and a pantser, because I’m defiantly a ‘plotter’ when it comes to worldbuilding, but much more of a ‘pantser’ when it comes to actually getting some writing down, with some vague ideas of what I want to happen.

He is perfect in Justice, yet He is perfect in Mercy, even when we fail Him. For this, He is good.

[Keilah H.]

@kyronthearcanin I like the chapters so far!

Where'd I get ya this time? The liver? The kidney? I'm runnin' outta places to put holes in ya.

[Ava Murbarger (Solfyre)]

@thearcaneaxiom

Yeah. Pantsing is habit of mine, usually because I end up working on multiple WIPs once (like Healer and the Dragonsbane Society, lol).  I usually just have a list of things I want included in a chapter, whether in my head or on paper.

@keilah-h

Thanks!

Follow your heart, but take your brain with you.

[Ava Murbarger (Solfyre)]

@keilah-h @thearcaneaxiom @landric @gwyndalf-the-wise

Alrighty, here’s Chapter 6! I’m not completely sure about this one… It feels right, and gets a lot of world/character building in I guess, but I’ve been told the stakes just aren’t completely there. So we’ll see XD

 

Chapter 6

Back on the ship, I introduce Arew to Sorren. He seems reluctant at first, but he lets the Falcor stay.  The wound is done bleeding, and I do my best to make sure there won’t be infection, but I suspect it will leave a nasty scar. The radius, a small bone crucial for flight, is broken, but I can’t build up the courage to tell Arew. There’s a possibility that it could eventually heal on its own, but it would require keeping the wing motionless for an unknown amount of time, and I don’t want to do that to him, either.

Strangely, as I work, the injury- even the broken bone- seems to become smaller. I shake my head, blinking rapidly, and continue working. I’ve imagined things many times before; this must be one of them. I’m bandaging Arew’s wing while he begins to tell us about his work.

“I’m a messenger. Our whole family has been made up of messengers for generations,” he says, rather proudly. “It’s a sort of tradition. Ashe allows ships now, but why waste all the fuel to deliver messages? So, we stick with older methods of communication.”

Sorren taps the tube resting on Arew’s back. “I assume this has to do with it?”

“Yes.” Arew reaches back with his beak and uses his beak to twist off the cap of the tube. Carefully, he pulls out a delicate roll of paper and lays it on the ground. “We use scrolls like this one. I usually have four or five jammed in there, sometimes even multiple tubes, but I was on my last flight for the week.”

I tear off the end of the bandage and nod, satisfied. His feathers are sticking out around the edges, and he turns to push them back into place with his beak. Sorren leans over the table to see as I take a step back. “I wouldn’t fly for a while, but it’s looking better.”

Arew nodded, his beak curving into a smile. “Thank you.” He thinks for a moment, then chuckles. “Knowing my mother, she probably would have tried to just stich the feathers back together.”

“Not over a break in the bone, especially so soon after the break,” I say. “At least, not in most circumstances.”

Arew bobs his head and winks. “I’ll remember that, in case I break another bone. I wouldn’t say it’s out of the question.”

“Let’s hope you don’t,” Sorren says. “You would be a huge help if we decide to see Ashe.” Before Arew can respond, he stands. “Let’s get off the ship. We can make a fire and wait for Dune out there.”

“A fire?” I ask. “I doubt it will be cold.”

He shrugs. “Lupinari tradition, I suppose. In between battles, we gather around fires whenever we can. Besides, I’d like to cook something, and not in the blasted galley.”

Arew nods. “Fine by me.” He glances at his wing and raises a brow. “I’ll leave you to gather sticks for the fire.”

Sorren and I go out to find fuel for the fire. He finds a stack of them by the time I find my first, and in no time we have enough for the fire. He gets a handful of dry grass and sprinkles it over the fire, then disappears inside the ship before appearing with a kind of lighter in his hand. He lets the flame run over the pile for a moment, and then there is the crackling of a fire. Arew sits on the side opposite the ship.

The old soldier leans back against the ship, kicking out his boots to rest a few feet from the fire. The sun is painting the sky with vivid colors, orange, pink, and blue all fading into each other. “Now this brings back memories.”
Somehow the smoke makes the air sweeter. I take a deep breath of it. “What kind of memories?”

Sorren’s eyes are sparkling as he thinks, staring up at the sky. “Lupus. The snow, the hills, the Lupinari, all of it.  A cabin bordering the forest, in between hills, smoke pouring out its chimney. Ancient wood burning. My sister and I cooking fish over a fire, and putting it out with snow. My fellow soldiers and I singing around a fire.” He smiles. “Sweet memories. The memories  brimming with life, without a sour note.”

“It sounds wonderful,” I say softly.

He nods. “It’s in remembering times like those that I’m sure the Phoenix is still there. Still watching. Even when the tides change.” His gaze falls on me. “You know, the Lupinari have always been fighting for Lacertilia’s slaves. For prisoners like you. We just can’t seem to hold our ground.”

I blink at him. “Really? I always thought you were just fighting with the Serpenree because… because you’d been at war for so long. They always said you just hated each other, and that’s why you fought.”

“That’s what they wanted you to think,” Sorren replies, “so that you wouldn’t seek escape. So you would remain trapped. And perhaps, for the Serpenree, that really is their reason. But for us, it was a whole lot more. And we kept trying even when there was so much in our way.”

“In your way?” I ask. “Like what?”
Sorren waves a hand. “Laws. Old laws from a foolish king. The Lupinari aren’t perfect. We practically stopped ourselves from reaching our goal.” He pulls lightly at the grass with his claws. “I assume you don’t know a whole lot about our laws.”

“I’ve never heard them,” I say. “Quelin never felt the need to tell me.”

“I won’t bore you with the details,” Sorren says. “But the Orythian Council, over our entire system, is in charge of making most laws, unless they pertain to only individual planets, in which case those planets can decide together. The old king of Lupus, Jaspar, agreed to laws he shouldn’t have in a lapse of judgement.”

“What laws?” Arew asks, leaning in.

“Battles must be fought on the battleplains,” Sorren tells him, “and weapons on both sides cannot be advanced.” He nods at me. “That’s why you never had to fix any bullet wounds. Swords and spears, and sometimes arrows, but no guns or blasters.” He shakes his head. “What I would give to go back. To stop Jaspar’s foolhardy decision. But now, it is too late for that.”
I nod slowly. “I guess I never really thought about it, but it makes sense. Lupinari are probably better at handling blasters than Serpenree.”

Arew grins and shakes his head. “Yeah, the Serpenree might be strong, but I doubt they have the patience to properly aim that kind of thing. Or the Falcor, for that matter.” He shakes out his wings. “No hands.”

“It has stopped us so far,” Sorren says. “And while we grow weaker, the Serpenree grow stronger. While our own planet has been safe for generations, we had yet to free one prisoner.” He pulls out his sword and stares at the reflection of the fire. “That is why I left the battle. So that our war was not completely lost.” He smiles at me again. “You, Rina, are our first victory.”

We are all quiet for a couple minutes, mulling over Sorren’s words. Then Arew tosses a twig back in the fire with his beak and cocks his head at the soldier. “You sing?”

Sorren laughs with a shrug. “A little, I suppose. I’ve never been very good at the battle chants the other soldiers like to shout, but I’ve sung a few songs around a fire.”

Arew grins. “Let’s hear it, then. It seems like a good time.”

“It is beautiful out here,” Sorren says. He nods. “Okay. This song has been sung since we first set off on our mission to free the prisoners. We sang it to soldiers new to the cause, which were most of us at the time. It seems right.”

Sorren begins to croon a slow melody, swaying gently.

The trees stand tall and strong,

And the snow whispers in our ears.

We raise our swords, we sing and shout,

And wash away our fears.

In a world confined by chaos,

There lies a sphere of peace.

Deep within the swirl of stars,

Here lies a planet, long released

From the jaws of snapping fangs,

Scales, blood, and spears,

The planet led by evil’s sword

That long has brought us tears.

So today, we fight, not for ourselves,

But for the stolen, oppressed, long dead,

And hope for the moment the traitor himself

Rears up his mighty head.

Stand strong now, young soldier,

When victory seems lost,

For when your blade delivers souls forgotten

It will all be worth the cost.

Then together, we’ll return there,

So the prisoners can see

Where deep within the darkness lies

Our home, now truly free.

Arew whistles. “How you remember all that, I’ll never know.”

“I’ve heard it a thousand times,” Sorren replies. “After a while, it gets stuck in your head.”

I look up as Sorren sheaths his blade. “The traitor. It’s Dragor, isn’t it?”

“It is,” he says.

I furrow my brow. “What makes him a traitor? Was he ever really good?”

“Some think so.” Sorren catches one of the embers out of the air with his claw. “As the story goes, Dragor wasn’t always… Dragor. He was like any normal Serpenree. Green scales, normal size. In fact, he could hardly wield a spear without catching himself with it. What happened to make him what he is now is hard to know.”
Arew frowns. “It sounds like magic. But Dragor isn’t an Arcanin. Could he be a halfling?”

I flinch. He can’t be. If Dragor really is a halfling, then why would he hate halflings so much? Why would all the Serpenree hate us?

“I don’t think he is,” Sorren says, and I let out an internal sigh of relief. “He would have a star, and they’re almost always on the forehead. I know for certain he doesn’t have one.”

“An Arcanin helped him, then,” Arew suggests. “He could have forced them to do it. Threatened them somehow.”

Sorren taps a claw on the ground. “From what I hear, the Arcanin are practically untouchable. The toxic rain on Arcania along with their magic does a pretty good job of keeping enemies away.” He stops tapping. “Unless it was a halfling.”

Immediately Arew looks at me, and I shake my head. “No! It’s not me, I promise.” I lift up my paws. “I don’t even know what my power is. How could I use it?”

“I’m sure it’s not you. He changed before you were born, anyway,” Sorren says. He stands, stretching out his arms. “I’m going to get something to cook. Try not to set everything on fire while I’m gone.”

“We’ll do our best!” Arew calls after him. He shifts back a little from the small fire. “Turns out, feathers are highly flammable. Fire is not a friend of the Falcor.”

I cock my head, peering at Arew’s bandage. “What about water?”

“What?”

I stand, motioning for him to rise as well. “Can you swim?”
He rises up, picking at his feathers with his beak. “I’m not great, but I won’t drown. Other Falcor can do a lot better, usually.”

“Well, come on then.” I set off towards the lake, and he follows behind. I slow down so he can keep up. No doubt he’s used to flying. “I want to try something. It might help you heal if you try to use your wing in the water. Slowly at first, obviously, but it could help in the long run.”

Arew nods. “I’ll try anything if it’ll help. You’re the healer.”

“I’ve never done it before, just so you know,” I tell him. “Serpenree won’t take the time to do anything like this, and they wouldn’t spend more time with me than they had to anyway.”

The Falcor laughs. “That’s probably a good thing. I wouldn’t want to spend any time at all with Serpenree.”

We reach the lake and wade into the water. I have to help Arew a little at first, but he manages to keep himself up after a while. He has most trouble fully stretching out his wing because of where the bones and tendons connect, so I fold his wing in and out slowly. I’m not completely sure how this will work with a break in bone, but using the wing should help, as long as the bone doesn’t move too much. I’m surprised he can spread it all the way without pain.

The water gets colder as the sun comes down, and when Arew starts shivering I decide to head in. “You know,” he says, “I think I feel better already.”

I smile. “Good, but don’t rush it. Just swimming can’t fix a break in bone; that’s more so that you can use the wing well once the bone is healed.”

Arew nods. “Alright.”

As we near the ship, a figure rises over the hill. “Hey, wait up! Rina!”

I turn around and laugh as Arew jumps, feathers ruffling. “Don’t worry, Arew. It’s just Dune. Wait here.”

I drop to all fours and run for the hill. Dune is tugging on a rope with his teeth. It’s attached to some kind of floating platform. Five large canisters rest on top, tied together. I stop a few feet away and he drops the rope. “Got the fuel,” he says with a grin. “Mind helping me get this thing to the Urbrin?

“Sure.” I step behind him and grab the rope in my paws.

He leans down and takes the end of the rope. “Who’s the Falcor?”

“Oh. That’s just Arew. He broke his wing, so I helped to bandage it.” We pull, and the platform follows behind slowly, lurching a little. Luckily the canisters are strapped on tight. “This is the best they had?”

He nods. “Yeah. Technology really isn’t Ashe’s thing. Anyway, she’s getting old, so the Falcor may not have to worry too much longer.”

I gawk at him. “Dune!”

“Well, it’s true.” He shrugs, glancing back at me with a hint of a smile. “The point is, this thing cost way more than it’s worth, but it was the only way I was getting all this fuel back.”

“How does it work?” I ask, peering back at it. “No wheels. It just floats like a ship, but there’s no flame keeping it up.”
Dune laughs. “The Falcor who sold it to me couldn’t even tell me that. But I think I figured it out. It uses magnetics.” He must know that I’m confused, because after a few seconds, he continues. “The magnetic rock underneath Aavian soil pushes the magnets in the platform away, keeping it in the air. If you took out the magnets, it would just be a kind of sled.” He looks back at the device. “I guess they could have used solar energy, but I don’t see any panels.”

“Oh,” I say. “I still don’t get it. But thanks for trying.”
“No problem.”

I tug on the ropes with my paws, rising to two legs. It lurches behind us, dragging along slowly, but luckily for us the canisters are tied on tight. We get the canisters into the main room and head back to the galley, where we find Sorren and Arew. The Falcor does a clumsy little bow when he sees Dune. “Nice to meet you, Dune.”

“Arew.” Dune nods. He eyes Arew’s wing. “Rina says your wing is broken?”

The Falcor bobs his head. “It is. Or maybe it was. It feels a lot better now.” He grins at me. “Maybe it was the swim after all. Watch.”

I wince as the Falcor spreads his wings and flaps into the air, flying to the ceiling and doing a few circles. I watch him in shock, sure my mouth is hanging open. When he lands, I run my hand softly along the break in bone- or where the break should be. It’s gone. That’s impossible. I had been sure he would never fly again. And yet, today, he moves his wing with no sign of pain. Again moving his wing, I notice that his wing can easily transition to every normal position I can think of.

Dune raises his eyebrows as Arew flaps up to retrieve something from the box cooker over the counter. “Whichever jar you used on him, make sure to keep that one handy.”

“I didn’t,” I say, turning to sit down in a chair against the wall, and Arew returns to the floor. “Well, okay, I used something to disinfect it, but besides that… I just bandaged it. There’s no way it can be healed by now. The bone wasn’t just fractured; it was broken. Snapped into two sections.”

Everyone is silent for a moment. I can tell they’re all thinking the same thing I am, but are too nervous to say it- besides Arew, who is contentedly tearing into some meat with his sharp, curved beak. I tap my claws on the seat, staring awkwardly down at the floor. To my surprise, Arew speaks up first.

“I was thinking,” he says. “Maybe it wasn’t the water at all. Because that wasn’t for the bone, right?” He waits for me to nod. “Right. So maybe you’re not just a healer. Maybe you’re an Arcanin healer. Magic. Wouldn’t that make sense?”

I growl softly. “No, it wouldn’t.”

Sorren scratches his head, looking up. “You are an Arcanin, Rina.”

“That would be perfect,” Dune says. “The Serpenree never even knew! But how powerful is it? Can you heal just minor wounds? Stop death?”

“Or,” Arew says, “what if she can just heal Falcor? Wouldn’t that be crazy? Either way, that’s a power I wish I had for all those times the job got dangerous.”

“I can’t be,” I say, before they can speak again. “All those Serpenree that died. I really was trying to heal them. But it just didn’t work. And no one I’ve worked with has ever healed so quickly.”

“Maybe it’s been growing over time,” Sorren reasons. “I don’t know how Arcanin powers work, but you’re still fairly young. It could be that getting off of Lacertilia has helped somehow, too, though I couldn’t tell you how.”

Dune’s expression is wavering between thoughtful and amused. He catches me watching him and gives me an apologetic look. “Sorry, sorry. I just still think it’s funny the Serpenree never knew.”

“Magic.” I open and close my paws. “I… I’m a healer.”

“That’s what I just said,” Arew protests, He puts one of his wings around me, waving the other. The wing that should still be broken. The wing I fixed. “You should be excited! This is great. From what I’ve seen, you’ve been waiting to know your power for a long time.”

I nod weakly. “Yeah, I guess I have. But now that I know…” I reach out and grab him by the wing, turning him so I can stare into his eyes. “No one can know. No one. Not the Serpenree, not the other races, not Ashe. You have to promise me you won’t tell anyone.” I shake him a little. “Please!”
Sorren takes a step forward as Arew shakes me off. He folds in his wings, giving me a sideways glance. “Fine, fine! I won’t tell. Promise! Just calm down.”

My entire body is tense, rigid. If the Serpenree find out now, they’ll think I’ve lied to them this whole time. That I’ve always known my power. And they’ll make me use it… for Lacertilia. Not just in small battles bordering Spearhead. Maybe even Dragor. How much power do I really have? I let out a nervous laugh. I probably don’t really have a power at all. We’re just imagining things. Arew’s wing wasn’t really broken.

But it had been. I’d seen it with my own eyes, felt it with my own paws. I’d touched the gap in between bones, and washed away the blood staining his brown feathers crimson. No matter how hard I try to hide it, I’m a healer, and there’s no denying it. I can never, never go back to the Serpenree; not before, and especially not now.

A hand touches my shoulder and I flinch back. Sorren is standing in front of me. “It really isn’t that bad,” he says. “After all, you now know you can’t hurt anyone, since you’re a healer.”

I can feel my eyes beginning to glare, but I don’t care enough to stop them. Sorren has no idea what it’s like to be a halfling, or an Arcanin. Or what it’s like to know you have magic. What if there’s some catch to using my power? For all I know, the magic used to heal Arew’s wing could have broken another Falcor’s wing. If that were true, could stopping someone’s death result in another dying? My head hurts from considering the possibilities.

“Rina, come on,” Dune says. I meet his eyes and he winces. “This is good, not bad at all. Think about it. Now, if you or any of us get hurt, you can just heal them.”

Sorren nods. “Yes, but we’ll need to be careful. There could be side effects.”

“I feel fine.” Arew rips off another piece of the meat and swallows it whole. “In fact, better than I have in a long time. I could fly for miles.”

Dune brightens and nudges me with a paw. “Quick, Rina, heal me. Maybe then I can fly, too.”

I take a deep breath. “Wait. Just wait. I need to know this is real.”

“Is anyone injured?” Dune asks. “Scratches, anything? Rina could try to heal it without any kind of medicine.”

“Here.” I begin to unwrap the bandage around my hind paw. “It’s healing, but the scratch is still there.” I sit there for a moment, thinking. “Actually, I’m not sure what I’m supposed to do.”

Dune’s eyes roll up to look at the ceiling. “Hmm… Try just touching it. Close your eyes and imagine the wound sealing itself up.” He shrugs as we all give him blank stares. “What? It could work.”

“You read way too much,” Sorren tells him. “But Rina, I think you should try it.”

I close my eyes and let my paw brush against the wound, wincing a little as a slight pain rises. In my mind, I picture thick gray fur closing over the pinkish wound. After almost a minute, I open my eyes, and the wound is still there. I feel a little dizzy, but decide it’s not worth mentioning. After all, the magic can’t have caused it; the magic didn’t work. If I have any magic.

“Nothing,” I say, not sure whether to be hopeful or disappointed. “It doesn’t feel any different, either.”

“Hold on.” Sorren shows me his paw, where a small burn has singed his fur black. “We weren’t quite sure how to use the ovens here, and I accidentally touched the metal while it was being heated. Maybe you just can’t heal yourself.” He holds out his paw. “Try me.”

I sigh. “Alright, but no promises.”

Everyone leans in closer to watch as I place my hand on Sorren’s and close my eyes. I imagine the fur turning from black to its original gray. Almost immediately, a sharp headache knives through my skull, and I grimace. I hold on a couple seconds longer, determined, then yank my paw away and open my eyes wide.

Sorren turns over his paw as I reorient myself. After a moment, he blinks and shows it to me. The burn is gone completely, with not even a trace of a scar. The throbbing in my head slowly recedes, and I slump back against the wall. Should I feel relieved, or terrified? Both emotions are trying to fight their way into my mind, and are making things ridiculously complicated in my head. You’re a healer. That’s all there is to it.

Even as I think it, I know it’s crazy. Just a healer! I just have magic! There’s proof right in front of me, but I’m still trying to find ways to get out of it. What if the burn faded on its own? What if it wasn’t a burn in the first place, just some kind of black smudge that I rubbed off with my paw? Maybe I’d imagined Arew’s wing being broken.

“Well, that settles it,” Dune says. “We have a magic healer on our side.”

Arew glances back at the Felisaro. “Quite the strange crew you have here. A magical halfling, a Lupinari, and a Felisaro.” He smiles. “And a Falcor, if you want one. I’m sure no one will miss my messages.”

“We need all the help we can get,” Sorren says, as I shake my head.

“No. No, I can’t let you do that. It’s too dangerous. Dune and Sorren are already in trouble because of me.”

Dune rolls his eyes. “Well, don’t take all the credit. I’m sure Sorren the soldier over here kept out of trouble, but I had already buried myself in it.”

“Me too,” Arew agrees, nodding. “Being a messenger seems safe, but I was always kind of a magnet for danger. I was stopping for a drink at a lake when a croc snapped my wing in his teeth.” He shuddered, his feathers rustling together. “Too much like a Serpenree, if you ask me. Just no venom.”

Sorren rubs the back of his neck. “Why do I have the feeling I’m going to have to keep you out of trouble?”

“Oh, that’s because you are,” Dune says. “But don’t feel too bad. Rina usually stays out of trouble.”

I give him a look. “Do I?”

“The things you can control, yes,” he replies. “Otherwise, you’re a complete mess. Honestly, what do you want me to say?

Arew lets out a trilling noise that I assume is a laugh. “Whether she does or not, she’s bound to get into more trouble with this group.” He hops up onto the table, making him about as tall as Sorren when he stands. “What’s the plan? How long are we staying, and what do we need to do?”

For some strange reason, everyone turns to stare at me. I take a deep breath, and can feel my ears pressing to the top of my head. “ Maybe speak with Ashe? I don’t know. I was on Lacertilia for so long, everything seems to be going by so quickly.”

“I say we stay here at least one more night to get everything going,” Dune says. “If that’s okay with everyone else.”

Sorren nods. “Good. We’ll stay here another day, then journey to Eaglereach to meet Ashe.” He looks at Arew. “Would you be any help there? You don’t happen to have any useful relatives, do you?” I can tell he’s pointing that at Dune, but the Felisaro doesn’t seem to catch it. He’s watching Arew curiously.

“Not really,” the Falcor replies. He taps one of his talons on the table. “My family isn’t involved much in anything. We’re messengers, but we usually keep to ourselves.” He makes a weird face. “Actually, I’m not great at much.”

Sorren nods. “Can you fight?”
“Not really.”

Dune raises an eyebrow, leaning closer and peering at Arew’s face. “And you’re sure you’re not magic? No Arcanin blood underneath those feathers?”

“Not as far as I know,” Arew replies, looking a little flustered.

“Leave him alone, Dune,” I say with a sigh. “It’s not like I’m much help either.”

He chuckles. “You might have the most skill out of all of us.”

“Magic isn’t exactly a skill,” I tell him. My tail keeps flicking, and I push my paw down on top of it to stop the motion. Arew picks at his feathers with his beak. “Not everyone is a trained soldier, or a pilot chef.”

Dune grins. “Pilot chef. It has a nice ring to it.”

I turn away from Dune and meet Arew’s eyes. “Look, I’m not saying I don’t want you here… Well, okay I am.” I hurry on when I see his hurt look. “But not because I don’t like you. I don’t want you in danger. We’ve already been hunted down by a crazed Felisaro, and probably have Serpenree coming after us. And it was all because they were coming after me. I just don’t want you getting hurt.”

“It’s weird,” Arew says, clicking his beak before continuing. There’s something amused about the way he looks at me. “I feel like we just had this conversation.”

“I’m serious!” I exclaim, and give up on holding my tail still. “This could be much worse than a broken wing, or a few scratches. We could die.”

Dune shrugs. “You won’t die, at least. And you’re our healer. If something happens to us, just pull out some magic and we’ll be fine again.”

It can’t be that simple. Can’t be. I swallow a growl. This is all too real. Or maybe not real at all. My imagination has the best of me, that’s all. Arew’s not really here. He never was.

But what if it’s true?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

So, yeah. Idk if the song fits well or not, but it went better than I thought it would so, yay! XD  The thing about stakes might be okay because i do add more in chapter 7

Follow your heart, but take your brain with you.

[Gwyndalf the Wise]

@kyronthearcanin

I’m behind on the reading, just finished chapter 5

So…Dune looks like a cat??? XD I went the entire first four chapters thinking he was a bird. *facepalm*

AAaand now I’ve finished chapter six.

Okay, I love this group. They’re hilarious, this is going to be fun.

I’m tired and so don’t have any suggestions for you, I’m sorry.

"...I did not say to the seed of Jacob, 'Seek Me in vain..."
(Part of) Isaiah 45:19

[Ava Murbarger (Solfyre)]

@gwyndalf-the-wise

Yeah, Dune is like a cat XD The whole races thing is kind of confusing, so I get it lol

Thanks! 🙂

Follow your heart, but take your brain with you.

[Keilah H.]

@kyronthearcanin I think the stakes were fine there! I would suggest you build it up a bit more in the next chapter (although you already said you were going to do that). And it is a first draft, so you don’t have to get it perfect the first time.

I’m liking this so far!! Rina’s healing magic is cool.

Where'd I get ya this time? The liver? The kidney? I'm runnin' outta places to put holes in ya.

[Ava Murbarger (Solfyre)]

@keilah-h

Thanks!!!

Yeah, the stakes I think should be evened out in the next chapter, so hopefully that will work.

And yeah, I love Rina’s magic! (fun fact I gave her that power because I already knew she would be kind of a medic on the battlefield, and I didn’t know a whole lot about medicine… So this way she won’t need to use it much longer, besides on herself. I just have to add the smallest amount of doctor stuff, which I am not very knowledgeable in, possible XD

Follow your heart, but take your brain with you.

[Keilah H.]

@kyronthearcanin Ok! I really love the idea.

Where'd I get ya this time? The liver? The kidney? I'm runnin' outta places to put holes in ya.

[Ava Murbarger (Solfyre)]

@keilah-h @landric @thearcaneaxiom @gwyndalf-the-wise @hybridlore

Alright, here’s chapter… 7? Lol. Yeah it is. Feels longer cause they’re all so long… XD

 

Chapter 7

As morning comes to our side of Aavian, I sit out on the wing of the ship while rain pours down. Dark clouds loom overhead, sending branching lightning down to grasp for the ground. It’s nowhere near as humid as the storms back on Spearhead, and the chilly air brushing past my fur would usually have energy racing through my veins. But today, I’m just tired.

Dune is working on the ship underneath the wing, checking the places where the Urbrin was shot. He hasn’t noticed me yet, and I’m glad for it. I came out here to be alone, and the Felisaro is in a ridiculous mood, hopping around on his paws and humming to himself. It seems he always has that wrench in his mouth.

My mind wanders away from him, away from the rain, and back to the thought that bothered me all last night. I can still see Arew flying perfectly across the galley, and Sorren’s paw sewing itself back together. I can still feel energy leaving through my paws, and pain entering through them. And I still can’t stop arguing against the side of myself that is relieved. There’s no time for relief. Only fear now.

A small bit of hope still lingers desperately in the back of my mind, that maybe we’ll find Ashe and she will keep us safe. But I shove it back farther. Up until now, hope has lived only to die. Why would things change now?

But I escaped. I’m not on Lacertilia anymore. If I’m being honest with myself, things haven’t stopped changing since then. So maybe, just maybe, eventually I’ll be able to relax.

The sound of metal scraping together shakes me from my thoughts. I sigh and stand up, my cloak blowing out behind me. It feels small, but still familiar. It could be a reminder of home, or maybe just of Lacertilia, but I don’t remember where it came from. I like to think it’s from Lupus somehow. After all, I’ve never seen Serpenree wearing this light brown color.

I glance down at the ground, deciding whether or not to jump. From the tip of the wing to the ground, even though it’s tilted down, is a jump over two times my height. I feel for the keys in the pocket of my cloak. I’d found them on the dashboard, probably left by Dune, and they opened the door to the second floor of the ship.

It had been just as big as the bottom floor- one small room in the front, holding the various guns and books and other supplies that he’d brought from the Ombryn, and a big room that made up the rest of the space. A ladder hung from on the wall, leading up to the hatch that I’d used to climb to the wing in the first place.

A shiver climbs up my spine. Back in that room, yet another set of manacles had hung on the wall, and when I’d gone to peer closer, there was blood on the chains and the wall around them. A prisoner. And I know deep down that it was either a Lupinari or a halfling or both, the two things the Serpenree hate the most.

Walking over the top of the Ulbryn, I draw out the keys. Three of them on a ring, and they look the same besides the colors in the center- deep blue, forest green, and blood red. They’re pointed at the end, and have identical teeth on each side, getting smaller as they go up, reminding me of some of the few trees in Spearhead. The blue worked on the door, the green on the hatch; I have no clue where the red key goes. Leaning down, I stab the key into its hole. A faint whirring sound hums in the metal, and the key spins on its own. Then the hatch pops open a little.

Taking the key back out, I pry it open the rest of the way with my claws, drop down onto the ladder, and close the hatch above me. It locks on its own with a metallic click, and I clamber down the ladder. Even though I avoid it, my eyes find their way to the manacles on the wall to my right, and after hesitating, I follow an invisible pull and walk towards them.

My paws brush over the cold metal, over dried blood. Someone stood here, chained and wounded, in front of a Serpenree, most likely before their death. In my head, I imagine Quelin looming over a Lupinari. The Lupinari looks too much like Sorren, and I shake the image from my mind. Still, I can’t bring myself to leave the room. Not yet.

“I thought I saw your shadow.” I whirled around with a gasp, already snarling, but it’s just Dune. He takes a few nervous steps back. “Sorry! I wasn’t trying to scare you, I promise.”
I frown. “You didn’t.”
His grin is already back. “Oh, alright. I made you mad, then.” He looks me over for a moment. “You know, you growl like Sorren. Almost exactly the same, except when he does it it’s all… guttural.”
“How did you get in here?” I ask, ignoring him. “I have the keys.”

Dune laughs. “I figured. Well, the inner door doesn’t lock behind you. Found that out when I accidentally left the keys in here yesterday.”

“So you’ve been in here? Why didn’t you tell us?”

His tail flicks. “I was going to. Maybe not Sorren, but I would’ve told you. But then the whole thing with Arew and…” He winces. “Then the um, healing happened, and I just thought maybe you weren’t in the mood.”

I sigh. “You’re probably right.” I drop the chain from my hands and turn, tossing the keys. He catches them awkwardly in his mouth. “Let’s just get out of here, alright?”

“Okay,” he mumbles through the keys. I walk briskly out of the room with Dune following behind, into the hall and out into the main room. He sets the keys on the dashboard and glances back at me. “Today we leave to see Ashe, or so Sorren says. I guess he’s kind of in charge now.” He shrugs. “Not that I’d rather be in charge. Anyway, get whatever you need ready. I’m leaving a lot of stuff here, so I just have to make sure the ship is secure.”

I nod. “I think all I really have is my satchel and that dagger Sorren gave me.”

“Definitely hold on to that satchel,” Dune says, “but eventually, you may not need it. If your power grows.” He hurries on before I can argue. “Arew’s bringing that tube of his. He keeps a map of this part of Aavian in there, so we’ll use it on our way to Ashe.”

“Where exactly are we?” I ask. I search my mind for a kingdom on Aavian it could be. Only one comes to mind. “Neryn?”

Dune shakes his head. “Close, but no. We’re in southern Rudal, just above the border with Neryn. Means we’re pretty close to Ashe, but she’s up north. A few dozen miles, give or take. In Eaglereach.”

“A few dozen?” I wince. “I’ve never walked that far. Ever.”

Dune shrugs. “Not that bad. Sorren and I should be fine, and Arew can fly. We’ll split it into two or three days if we have to. Besides, you like to run, right?”
“I guess so. Should we bring one of those guns from back there?” I ask. “Not for the Falcor, but if the Serpenree show up, there could be trouble.”

“Good idea.” Dune laughs. “Sorren can carry it. Besides you, he’s probably the only one that can shoot it. They’re Serpenree guns, built for two hands.”

I blink at him. “Really? Where’d you get Serpenree weapons?”
“Oh.” He grins at me. “That crash wasn’t the first time I’ve been to Lacertilia. I don’t normally make such a big entrance. It was a lonely post out in the middle of nowhere, and the soldiers were gone, so I grabbed them up just in case I ever needed them.” He frowns. “In hindsight, it wasn’t the smartest move, because I could hardly fire one, much less aim one.”

“And the books?” I ask. “Are they from the Serpenree, too?”

He laughs. “Hardly.”
After waiting a moment for him to continue, I cock my head. “Then where are they from?”
“You’ll see. Eventually, anyway. When we get back to the Ulbryn, after Ashe.”

I cross my arms. “Sorren doesn’t like all the secrets you’ve been keeping.”

Dune’s mood immediately changes. “He’s not exactly an open book, either,” he snaps, his tail lashing out behind him as he walks for the room he shared with Sorren and Arew. He’s still angry with Sorren, and I hope it doesn’t get us in trouble. “We’ll leave in an hour. You should probably get ready.”

As the Felisaro disappears into the other room, I make my way to my own room. It feels empty with four bunks and only me to fill one. I grab the dagger and shove it into my pocket, then shoulder my satchel and glare into a mirror at the back of the room. The white star on my forehead stands out like a dark cloud in a clear sky. I pull up my hood and turn to the wall, grabbing one of the Serpenree spears from above my bed.

You can never be too careful.

As I walk out into the main room again, I find Sorren and Arew. Sorren must have had the same idea as I did, because he’s holding a spear identical to mine. His sword is attached to his belt, and I know he has another dagger somewhere- the one he pulled seemingly out of nowhere in the fight with Korwin. A bag is strapped over his shoulders, bulging, and I imagine it’s filled with food and other supplies, though he still stands tall under its weight.

Arew has his messenger tube at his back, and the key ring now rests around his neck. His yellow eyes, circled with patches of white feathers, are roving the room. I keep forgetting he’s probably never seen so much technology in one place, as a messenger on Aavian. He keeps folding and unfurling his left wing, like he’s determined to use it as much as he can before something bad happens. For all I know, the healing could be temporary.

Sorren looks up and smiles at me. “I hope you don’t plan on using that spear on one of us.”

I shake my head. “No. I would probably end up stabbing myself by accident anyway.”

“Either way, keep it on you, just in case,” Sorren replies. He nods at Arew. “If the Serpenree show up, Arew will fly on to Ashe for help.”

I frown. “Let’s just hope the Serpenree don’t find us.”

“Right,” Sorren says, “but it’s good to be prepared. You never know where they’ll be. After all, they probably knew how much fuel was in the ship, and could judge that we’d land on Aavian by that.”

Arew nods. “As of now, we- the Falcor- aren’t in conflict with the Serpenree, but we’re not fans of them, either. If they land on Aavian soil without permission, we might just be able to get Ashe on our side.”

“That’s a start,” Sorren replies, curling his paws around the straps of his bag. “And it may not work, since we didn’t exactly ask Ashe before landing, either. Eventually, if we can get it, we’ll need a bigger offensive on Lacertilia itself. But only once we get Rina somewhere safe, wherever that might be.”

Arew nods. “Hopefully the Serpenree won’t have the same idea and try to get on Ashe’s good side. I doubt she’d fall for it, but Dragor knows how to work with threats. Between the Falcor and the Lupinari, we might have a chance.”

“Doubtful,” Sorren says with a sigh. “The Lupinari are still tangled in laws that should never have been passed. If it were up to me, I’d surpass the laws in this case. More is at stake than a few rules that those lizards don’t want broken. The Arcanin keep to themselves, and I honestly don’t think we have enough incentive to get the Felisaro on our side.”

“Your pilot could help,” Arew suggests. “Dune?”

I wince as Sorren frowns. “You’re right. He could be helpful. But I’m not sure he’s in good standing with the other Felisaro. Maybe even their king.”

Arew cocks his head. “What does Ryven have against Dune?”

“I’m not sure,” Sorren admits. “It may not be about the king at all. But something’s off. He’s hiding something, I can feel it.”

I hear a growly cough from behind me and wince. “Ryven doesn’t even know my name. Are you going to stand here talking all day, or can we leave?”

Sorren and I turn around to face Dune, and the soldier growls softly. “Listen, Dune-”

“Come on, soldier,” Dune snaps, walking out the door. “We’re wasting time. Just stab at anything that moves.” He glances back, and I can tell he’s trying not to be amused when he meets my eyes. “Unless it’s me. Or Rina or Arew.” Then he shoots Sorren a glare and stalks outside.

Sorren raises an eyebrow at me. I smile and shrug, following after the Felisaro. As much as Dune is uncomfortable with Sorren, he’s at least trying to… do something. I’m not exactly sure what that is yet, but he’s at least cheering himself up a little. After journeying alone for so long, it must be difficult dealing with any kind of conversation. I should know. Talking to Sorren and Dune and Arew is nothing like talking to  the Serpenree, even Quelin.

Arew flies up and lands lightly on my shoulder, clinging to my cloak with his large talons. He’s maybe twice the size of the few hawks I’ve seen on Lacertilia, but still fairly light.

I look up at him and laugh. “Don’t expect a ride all the way there.”

“Only most of the way,” he replies. He uses his beak to pull my hood down, his eyes amused. “After all, like you said, my wing could magically be broken again at any moment.”

I don’t bother trying to raise my hood again. “I didn’t say that. Not specifically, anyway.”

Arew smiles, folding in one wing and keeping the other at the back of my head for balance. “Either way works for me. If you get tired, I’ll go bother one of the others.”

Sorren closes the door of the ship behind us, and we start out over the hills, Dune in the front and Sorren in the back. The tall grass sways in the wind as we walk, and for a long time the only sound comes from our footsteps. Then Arew starts whistling, the three keys bouncing lightly over his russet feathers. Dune has us on a quick pace, and while Sorren doesn’t seem to mind, I have an Arew on my shoulder. Still, I do my best to keep up.

As we draw closer to the treeline, an earthy smell drifts through the air, as if I’d inhaled dirt. I glance back and see Sorren wrinkling his snout. Dune and Arew don’t seem to notice, one humming and the other whistling now. It’s strange, but I’ve never seen so many trees in one place, so maybe forests are usually this way. Then again, Sorren knows Lupus, and Lupus is all trees and snow.

Many hills pass between us and the ship. A mile, maybe two, and the trees loom over us, thick trunks with crowns intertwining to form a gilded canopy.

We enter the forest and the smell continues to get stronger. Somewhere along the way even Dune goes silent, and Arew’s eyes scan the dense jumble of plants. He squints, his head tilting slightly. “You smell that?”

“Have since the tree line,” Sorren says. “Like the entire forest is really a mound of dirt.”

Arew flaps over to land on Dune’s back, and now both he and Sorren are watching the trees. “You didn’t bring any kind of technology, did you? None of those blasters you had up top in the ship?”
“No,” Dune says. “A dagger is the only weapon I have. All the tech should be back on the ship.”

Arew sighs. “Good, good. We’ll be alright, then.”

No one says anything. I glance up at Arew as he flaps back to my shoulder, and for some reason I feel the need to whisper. “Alright? Why wouldn’t we be alright?”

“It doesn’t matter,” he says, folding in his wings. “As long as there’s no electricity, we’re fine.”

I’m getting ready to ask him what he means when the blue key at his neck clicks and starts to whirr, spinning around, and then the red and green do the same. Dune cocks his head and steps closer. Arew’s eyes widen and he jumps up, pulling at my shoulder with his talons. “Move!”

I pull back, grabbing at his wing. “Calm down! What is it?”

Sorren turns in a slow circle, and Dune looks at the ground. Arew flaps to the ground and scans the trees, his eyes wide. The forest is eerily still.

Crack! Snap!

The three of us jump, and Arew leaps into the sky. A tree creaks, shudders, and falls forward, right over Sorren, but he’s looking past me. “Sorren! Tree!” I yell, and he immediately understands, diving and rolling to the side. The trunk narrowly misses his tail. I try to step forward to help him up, but something holds tight to my ankle, winding tighter around at my attempt to move.

I look down, frozen in place, sure some kind of snake is going to be sitting at my feet. But they’re not snakes. They’re roots, winding their way around my ankles, tightening. Sorren slowly rises to his feet and Dune stares, his mouth wide open. A warm blast of wind from behind nearly knocks me over as a piercing roar echoes through the forest. My ears ring as the earthy smell becomes unbearable and the roots shove forward, forcing me flat on my back. The air is shoved out of my lungs, and I can’t breathe.

The head looming over me, held atop a long neck, is on its own at least three times my size. Roots make up the entire monster, and huge gaping holes serve as its eyes. It is a snake, but larger than I could have imagined. I can see Sorren hefting a spear out of the corner of my eye. As air begins to flow back through my lungs, I stare up at the beast with wide eyes as it looks over our group, its thick tongue flicking in and out.

Coils of the serpent’s body, as thick as a tree trunk, slide closer around us. Beginning to panic, I yank my wrist away from a root and snap it. The snake hisses, a sound that vibrates the ground. Sorren takes a step forward with the spear, reaching it out towards the roots at my hind paws, but before I can think, the snake has its jaws around me, and I’m thrown against a nearby tree. I hit the ground hard.

“Rootwinder!” Arew calls, his blurry shape appearing beside me, but the world is spinning. “Get up!”

My words come out slurred as the snake strikes at Sorren, getting a mouthful of spear. “Root… Rootwinder?”

“Big snake, drawn to electricity,” Arew explains hurriedly. He tugs at my ear with his beak. “Come on! We need to leave, now!”

“Can’t,” I gasp. A headache thunders in my skull. “I’m… healer.”

“Really?” Arew exclaims, flinging his wings out in exasperation. “You’re choosing to say that now? You can’t heal if you’re dead! Move, Rina!”

I stumble to all fours, unable to rise to two feet, and follow slowly, staggering after Arew as he flaps ahead. The Rootwinder’s body has circled around us, and I stop when I come to the mass of roots. Thinking to use my spear, I realize I must have dropped it when the snake wrapped its roots at my feet. Instead, I claw my way slowly up the roots, finding plenty of surfaces to grab onto, until finally I’m at the top. I tumble to the other side, roots snagging at my cloak.

“Arew! Where… where are we going?” I ask, following after him.

The Falcor looks back and circles above me. “Out of the forest! Rootwinders won’t follow us into the hills.”

“What about Sorren and Dune? They’re still back there!”

He nods. “I know! Sorren wanted you safe first.”

I growl softly. “I’m safe now. The hills are in this direction? Go back and help them.”

After hesitating, he nods, frowning. “Fine. But keep walking this way, and don’t stop until you’re completely clear of the trees.” He lands in front of me. “All the way, okay?”

I swipe at him with a paw, and he leaps into the air. “Go!”

I watch as he flaps quickly back towards the others, dodging tree branches. Then, turning, I run as fast I can, stumbling, leaping any roots I come across. They could be Rootwinders, too, for all I know, and I don’t want to risk it. My mind is spinning as I run. How are Rootwinders possible? Do they have minds? If they’re all roots, are they even alive? How long have they been on Aavian?

And on top of all of that, why didn’t Arew warn us? He knew they were here. Why didn’t he ask if we had anything that would attract the Rootwinders? Maybe he was just used to it. Maybe he expected us to know. After all, the keys had started to spin on their own. I didn’t even know they used electricity at all.

Slowing a little, I am aware of a sharp pain growing in my side. I must be a good distance from the Rootwinder, so I stop, glancing back. My satchel is pressed up against my side, and some kind of liquid is soaking the fabric on the bottom. I push myself to two paws and lift the strap over my head. When the satchel swings away from my fur, it takes a sharp shard of glass with it. Blood seeps slowly through my cloak, and I press my paw to my side, wincing.

Using my other hand I open the satchel and find the jar that was broken. From the smell I could have guessed before I saw it, but I still don’t want it to be true. Liquid Death. Quickly, I press my cloak against the wound, hoping to dab away any of the deadly liquid that might have come with the glass. If it got in my bloodstream… I’m not sure what it would do. Luckily, the rest of my jars have seemingly remained intact, and the dagger still rests in my pocket.

I start walking again, slinging the satchel back over my shoulder and leaving the Liquid Death in the grass. There’s no way I’ll be able to carry it. Looking around, the trees seem to stretch on for miles. How far will I have to go to get out of the forest? Arew had acted as if it wouldn’t take long, but he can fly. My side stings, and pressing the cloak hardly helps.

Closing my eyes, I imagine the wound closing, fur knitting over the cut. When I open my eyes, nothing. The blood is still there, and I have to blink dizziness away. Can’t heal myself. What kind of power is this? Of course I can’t get something useful.

Out here on my own, nothing good comes of my power. I should be back with Dune and Sorren and Arew. Even if I was with them, I don’t know if my power would work. I’m debating on going back, turning in a slow circle, when I realize I’ve lost my sense of direction.

“Arew?” I can’t hear the Rootwinder, or any yells… I’m hoping for good reasons. “Dune? Sorren?”

A low hiss comes from my left, and I jump right. A Rootwinder? For a moment, I can see nothing but trees. Then a figure steps out from behind a tree, into shadows, and I take a stunned step back.

A Serpenree.

I should run, but I don’t. I’m frozen in place. The Serpenree steps forward, into the light, and I stifle a gasp. He narrows his eyes. “Halfling.”

“Quelin?”

Follow your heart, but take your brain with you.

[Author]

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