Harvest and a Deal

> “If you thought it was cute...yeah, it was cute. Stings a bit, but still cute.” ~Frein Nivan

Frein ignored the silent daggers flying from Katherine’s eyes. He slowly picked up Elizzel, placing her on the ground like a kid after a shoulder ride.

“Visitors?” he asked.

“Not your kind, unfortunately…fortunately?” The faunel looked at him inquisitively. She gave the conundrum a few seconds to consider before moving on and passing a questioning look towards the Lady of the Void. “I take it you still don’t know how Forest Jaws reproduce?”

Katherine had dismissed her murderous stare even before Elizzel turned to her. She shook her head. “I’ve been gone a while, but before I left, we didn’t really have the luxury to pinpoint our Nightmare studies.”

With a nod, Elizzel approached Enza to lean on her side. The yuma sniffed her new companion once before adjusting better so that the faunel could take a seat.

Now comfy, Elizzel began to explain. “These Jaws Lurking in the Forest are a recent incarnation of Nightmares, more recent than Those That Fell Off a Cliff. They also have pseudo-Nature’s Favor capabilities, making them hard to spot and observe.

“To keep it short, Forest Jaws reproduce by finding other dead of their kind. They use the corpse as incubators for the eggs that they carry, storing them inside the stomach. These eggs then absorb the dead from the inside and from the other eggs in their batch until they eventually hatch.”

“You’re saying there’s a Forest Jaws on the way here?” Katherine was suddenly alert. An aura of meiyal expanded from within her. “I don’t sense anything.”

Frein could feel the aura’s touch. Inquisitive in nature, but it could use a subtle aspect. The thought of being scanned didn’t particularly appeal to him.

“How far can you detect?” Elizzel inquired.

“About five kilometers. So far, I can only detect a few Fallen and some lesser Nightmares. All far away from us.”

“Adult Forest Jaws can sense from eight up to ten kilometers. They’re senses are specialized for tracking others of their kind, but their main purpose is to spot other creatures with a lot of meiyal for them to hunt.”

“Like us?” Kristel asked. Her voice was a little shaky, but she tried her best to sound calm. Frein appreciated her effort.

“Correct,” Elizzel answered nonchalantly. “They’re also attuned enough to know if you can detect them. So, they’ll be sure to keep their distance.”

“If they’re keeping their distance, then we don’t have a problem,” Frein concluded. His confidence on Katherine was that of a diamond, only, the Lady herself looked awfully concerned.

“Well, if there’s only one, it’ll surely stay away from us.” When the faunel was met by three pairs of concerned eyes, she continued. “There are three nests nearby, and based on my observations a few days ago, I think they’re the kind of neighbors that work together.

“When a Forest Jaws dies, it releases a special kind of scent that only others of its kind can detect. It’ll reach far and wide and it’s detectable by their attuned senses. If my assumptions are correct, the smell would’ve reached them a long while ago.”

Elizzel started petting Enza as thanks for carrying her while she continued to explain. “Fortunately, they’re very cautious creatures. I imagine Lady Katherine’s mere presence is forcing them to back off until all three of them are near enough to ambush us at the same time.”

“We have to get going, then.” Katherine erased her detection aura and approached the dead Forest Jaws. “I need to get something from this one first.”

The Lady Drew a blade Meiyal Art and prepared to slice open from the stomach. She hesitated, pivoting back towards the faunel. “You don’t mind if I cut it open, right? You’re technically also this one as far as I’m concerned.”

“Feel free,” Elizzel replied.

“It feels like a waste,” Frein commented. “Kat spent some good time healing you in that form, if I recall.”

Elizzel reached for her left shoulder, slipping the smoky sundress slightly off her shoulders. A weirdly shaped scar sparkled a subtle indigo. “Some wounds don’t instantly heal, I’m afraid. What do you want with the Forest Jaws?”

“Well,” Frein began, explaining for Katherine who began to focus on her work. “I just found out earlier, but apparently they’ve been receiving letters that predicted events with incredible accuracy…”

Frein’s words were lost at the sight of gore and innards spilling from the Forest Jaws. They were nothing like he imagined. Black blood tainted by bright blue gushed and pooled, flowing to a steady river. Aside from those, the rest was eerily empty. Some organs that he expected to find—specifically the liver and intestine—were missing.

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The inside itself was hallow. He stomached the intense putrid smell and followed Katherine inside. Bones and muscles were present, but again, there was an obvious lack of other necessary body parts.

He found the Lady where the heart should be, working on fibrous tissue that were somehow giving her a hard time.

“Hey,” she said, noticing Frein approach. She pointed at a fractured, transparent membrane where she lodged her meiyal blade. On the other side of it was what looked like a heart. It was much larger than they were. He couldn’t find the lungs.

“Can you help? Protect your hands with a barrier Meiyal Art and make sure it’s sturdy. It’s quite tough and sharp.”

He did as he was told and cautiously began to rip open the membrane. It was like bending a hardened piece of metal. They were able to wrench open a small portion wide enough for Katherine to slip her arm through. She reached inside and pierced into the heart with a bare hand.

The heart began to swirl, forming a spiral as it disintegrated into bits and pieces. Blood, muscles, and other organic tissues formed a vortex, causing a disturbing harmony of fleshy sounds. They all coalesced into Katherine’s hand, solidifying into a black gem the size of her palm. Without any other preamble, she turned around.

“Let’s get out of here,” she said. Frein followed without question.

Outside, they saw Elizzel still petting Enza while chatting with Princess Kristel.

“Hold on,” Katherine said, pulling him to the side. She stretched a palm towards him and began to Draw. He felt an urge to resist but thought better of it.

“Imbelia.” A thin layer of liquid manifested from the Lady’s hand. It stretched into a vertical film that progressed slowly towards Frein. He allowed it to pass through him.

He was met by an odd sensation of water. The layer washed and dried his entire body in an instant as it passed through him. Clean and refreshed as though he just got out of the shower, but dry as though he never took one in the first place.

Katherine did the same for herself while Frein admired the Meiyal Art. He had seen a variety of Arts before this one—all were powerful and handy he was sure—but never had he felt the urge and desire to learn this one since Spatiera and Siffera.

“I need that,” he said.

“Out of everything you’ve seen, this is the one you want to learn next?” Katherine shrugged. “Sure, when we’re out of here.”

“Guys, we have a situation,” Kristel beckoned them.

“What’s up?” Frein asked.

“Apparently, Elizzel here met the one who sent the letters…probably.”

“Explain,” Katherine asked this time, a little more urgently than Frein’s.

“It’s not a guarantee,” Elizzel began. “A week ago, I met someone who told me not to take this form too early. Whoever this person was, they were very careful not to show themselves. I was told to wait and help a Void Mother, an Iristan, and three Vyndivalians. I didn’t believe at first but when this person started talking in response to my thoughts without any form of telepathy, I decided to wait. Not soon after the Void Mother showed up.”

“Did you catch her name?” Katherine asked. “The Void Mother’s, I mean.”

Elizzel made a quick nod. “It was a Soul’s Walk, but she named herself Selfiya Lunasensia, Void Mother of the Western Sanctum. She knew me by name as well, I think she’s been monitoring me for years but kept my existence a secret from the Sanctum.”

Frein saw Katherine make a sigh of relief like he had never seen before.

“Someone you know?” he asked. Truthfully, he wanted to ask about Soul’s Walk. He knew it was a Blessing of Brymeia—derived from the naming scheme of the other Blessings he knew—but he wanted to know how it worked.

“My Void Mother,” Katherine replied. “She’s the one who trained me as a Lady of the Void. Every specialized Meiyal Art and Void—or Nightmare—Control Techniques I know came from her tutelage.

“If she’s using Soul’s Walk, that means she’s in a difficult situation. But I’m glad that she’s alive at least. Thank you for your help.”

“Venry’s alive as well,” Kristel added, her voice now livelier than earlier. “He’s the Iristan Elizzel helped.”

“What about the Vyndivalians?” Frein asked.

“I accompanied Venry in secret for a few days, protecting him from any stray Nightmares. He met a Vyndivalian named Dystro before I left him to prepare for my transformation. I couldn’t stay long enough to find the other two.”

“That’s a lot of good news!” Katherine exclaimed.

“I think I should properly apologize, Elizzel,” Kristel said. “I was too hasty with my accusations. I’m sorry.”

“I apologize as well,” the faunel replied, making a slight bow. “If you didn’t have the penned book, I wouldn’t be able to prove the claim at all. I’m afraid I don’t have all my memories with me.”

“What do you mean?” Frein asked.

“I’m afraid it’s a rather confusing story. I’ll explain once we find a way to deal with the Forest Jaws. Did you find what you need, Lady Katherine?”

“Yes,” she replied before turning to everyone else. “I can show it later. You’re right, first we need to get out of here.”

“About that,” Frein interrupted. “What if we try to get rid of them? Get rid of all three.”

Before either the Princess or the Lady could tell him how crazy he was, the faunel spoke first.

“That’s crazy,” she said. “But I’m actually with him on this one.”

“That’s crazy!” Kristel repeated.

Katherine didn’t follow suit. “You have a plan?” she asked.

“I do,” Frein and Elizzel said together.

“Somewhat,” he added, turning to the faunel. “You first.”

“First, let me properly reintroduce myself.” Elizzel hopped off Enza and separated herself from the group. She turned with a graceful pirouette, smoothly transitioning to a formal genuflect.

The meiyal around her buzzed and coalesced into small orbs, turning into what Frein defined as ‘tiny little spirits’. One by one, green, blue, and yellow spirits formed and danced around her. They had small limbs and large smiling faces, laughing with adorable chimes. As soon as all of them materialized, they stopped and mimicked the faunel’s gesture.

“I am Elizzel, Faunel of Freedom and Consequences. As with my voluntary agreement with the Gatekeeper, Schrodie, I am here to offer you, Visitor Frein Nivan, my undivided assistance in order to prepare you for your destiny.”

The tiny little spirits clapped and cheered in unison before vanishing into meiyal.

“Is this a whether I like it or not situation?” Frein asked.

“You’re free to choose.”

He turned to Katherine. She shrugged. Kristel offered the same response. Enza just smiled at him. Sam, who had been there the entire time, hovered beside his ear.

“She’s suspicious, I don’t trust her,” he whispered. “Obviously, I’m joking. I just want to be special and have an actual response unlike those three. You do you, buddy.”

With a snuffed-out smirk, Frein turned to the faunel. “Then, I formally accept your offer, Elizzel. What do you have for me?”

“Let’s start with Faunel Tethering. Ring any bells?” She was met by four shaking heads and one shaking orb.

“Sounds awesome, though,” Frein replied. “How does it work?”

“I’ll show you,” Elizzel approached him and presented a hand, asking for something. “Let me bite your core first.”

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