That awful feeling after a really long time of bawling your eyes out never gets any less vile feeling, even in another life in another world. Raevu is too good of a friend for me and deserves somebody better, someone who wouldn't leave her in the dark for so long. That's what I told myself at first, but seeing how content she was in just being there for me forced me to rethink that line of reasoning in favor of just accepting things as they were now. She knew the not-so-bad secret about my origin, and in the end had come to acknowledge that it was alright by her. Even though she didn't know the whole truth of what I was going through, she accepted the reality of who I was before, and that's more than I could ask for.
The both of us were especially tired, and by the time we were both composed again we had neither the willpower nor motivation to get up from the couch pit. We just laid there side by side looking up at the ceiling, adrift in our own thoughts and feelings as time crawled by. We must have been there for a while because the thing that brought us out of our trance was the arrival of Tokols in the doorway. He appeared to have stopped by the hobby room as evident by the bundle of cloth pieces under his arm, and without so much as a word of greeting he came to the pit and sat at the edge. He began stitching soon after, and only once he had settled into a smooth pace did he say something as he worked the needle and thread.
“What's the word, Raevu? Kay looks like she's been weeping and you don't look that far off from doing the same. No offense to either of you, I'm just stating the facts.”
Raevu looked to me for some kind of confirmation, which I gave by darting my eyes from her to my brother in rapid fashion. She leaned forward slightly as to speak to him better, which only seemed to make her more anxious as she answered.
“Kayrux told me the truth about being reborn. She started crying when she stopped writing, then we just stay here until she calms.”
Tokols nodded along with her explanation, the bobbing of his head matching the rhythm of his stitching.
“Sounds about right. She's always the tough one when it comes to anything else, but she starts to open up with you and she loses all that calm in an instant. She's all soft and sweet under those sharp scales.”
From my position I could see him just fine, especially the smirk he was wearing on his gecko-like face. I raised a hand and gestured a half-hearted sign of annoyance to him, only to get a chuckle in reply.
“I'm not teasing you Kay, it's just how you are. Toughing through everything that hits you, only being squishy when you think nobody's around, it's what you do. Anyways, Humey oughta be home soon with some fresh meat, and Mibata is already here doing prep work. We'll make up some extra if you plan on staying, Raevu. It'll be no trouble for us.”
Raevu blinked a few times, almost as though she didn't expect to be offered food. She stammered slightly as she tried to reply politely.
“I-if it's alright, then I can stay a little longer. But, um, Tokols…why are you not surprised when I said Kayrux told me her past?”
My brother glanced at her as he finished a row of stitches, his mouth tugging to one side as he shrugged.
“You're her friend, and to her that means that you're like an extension of the family. See, my sister has this strange ability to change people's lives just by being herself, and once she does these people seem to be drawn to her like moths to a light. I'm sure she's already told you about Vimna, the girl from the workshop who she treats like a sister. Perfect example, as it was through Vimna that the girl's entire family knows how to read and that they can trust our family when in a crisis. Oh yeah, before I forget, I was asked by Tuleni to tell you that Vimna’s recovery is going well, Kay.”
I offered a thumbs up for the information alongside a hand sign of appreciation. He wasn't wrong about anything he had said about me and my magnetic tendencies, and it was actually a new common event for one of my brothers to appear in their free time to the clinic in order to check in with the Dobo and Gyloa family. Since Tokoks was working there he was keeping me updated regularly on any developments that occurred, which thankfully were all positive health improvements and regular forward progress. Still, knowing that those kids all had me and my brothers to watch over them surely took an immense burden off of their parents. That and the knowledge that the great healer Tuleni was personally overseeing their healing, which through her skills would be done by the week's end.
From the main den I heard a loud slam as someone barged into the main room, followed by a frustrated hiss from Mibata and rapid apologies from Humey. Sounds like Humey had forgotten his own strength and opened the door right onto Mibata’s tail quite abruptly, catching the otherwise patient kobold off guard and making him quite irritable. Their squabble didn’t last long once Tokols dropped his stitching to tell them we had company, which they confirmed by peering around the doorframe at Raevu and myself. We both gave them waves to let them know they had been seen, causing the boys to stumble backwards and discuss something out of earshot.
Great, now I'm too curious to stay here moping about and not see what they’re up to. I rolled myself forwards with as much grace as one would see from a panda cub, then proceeded to slink over to the doorway. Craning my neck around the door frame, I only managed to catch the last peep of their plan before I was spotted, and without any hesitation Tokols shot me some kind of salute before dashing through the open door and out into the tunnels. I was about to ask what was up when Mibata stepped up to me with an explanation ready.
“Tokols is out getting a forgotten ingredient. While he is away, Humey will be doing the bulk of the preparations for the meal while I see to anything the two of you might require. Before that, I must ask Raevu if she is tolerant of food containing an element of heat contrived by spices or peppers.”
Raevu had to think about it for a moment, then responded in the negative with a ‘nuh-uh’ sound. Mibata nodded once, then returned his steely gaze to me.
“Well, if that is the case, might I ask the two of you a question? Will Raevu be remaining here for the night, or does she require an escort back to her den? I can assist her in getting there swiftly and without any interruption if need be, but the availability of space for you to sleep in is numerous, and can even be facilitated for privacy within the adjacent room reserved for crafting.”
Something I hadn’t expected welled up in my chest, and it was the thrill at the premise of having a sleep-over. Truth be told, I never got to have one as a kid due to my bouncing from one foster home to the next, but it had always been a minor dream of mine to have one with a friend. The stars had aligned, and here was my best friend in my house in the hours before nightfall. This was the perfect setup for it, and I could barely contain my excitement as my tail began to sweep across the floor from side to side. I looked back to Raevu, and seeing the smile on her face made my joy skyrocket.
Stolen novel; please report.
“I can stay here tonight. My siblings often come home after I sleeping and gone before I wake up, so they probably not worry if I not there one night. Can tell mom where I am though, so she keep them from any worrying.”
In a cordial manner, Mibata bowed and replied with a slight bit of mirth hidden in his usually impassive tone.
“I can relay that for you. I am quite skilled at navigating the city quickly and without causing a disturbance, so reaching the Dread Claw den will be quite an easy task. If that is all, I shall be on my way immediately as to have this task completed before Tokols returns.”
Raevu nodded in thanks while I wondered how he knew where her house was. Oh right, her brother is one of Mibata’s coworkers and friends too, so maybe he’d already learned where it was from him. Not wasting a second, Mibata was hastily striding towards the door with a purpose to his motions, and on the way out I watched him take his tail in one hand before closing the door with the other. Tokols being spontaneous was normal, and Mibata acting like a gentleman was pretty average given his personality, but I had yet to see what Humey was doing with his back to us in the kitchen. I waved for Raevu to follow me towards the meal preparation area and into the lingering aroma of the culinary delight my brother was cooking up.
I hesitated to enter the kitchen at first due to three things: the heat, the speed at which my brother was cutting vegetables, and Tim’s circular path that was being traced around the kitchen floor. Not wanting any harm done to myself or my beloved bug, I decided to stay on the opposite side of the prep area and played the role of the silent observer to Humey’s cooking skills. Both Raevu and myself were immensely impressed with how deftly he was chopping everything into fine cubes before tossing them into the large copper pot reserved for our soups and stews. In order to heat such a large tub, Humey did the only rational thing and wrapped his big arms around it in a bear hug while using his fire magic to heat it from all sides.
Now that everything in the pot was getting warm and he was no longer busy, Humey turned to us with a satisfied smile spread across his serpentine face
“Heya Kay, good to see you Raevu, sorry I didn’t say hi earlier, I just thought you two wanted to be alone or something. Anyway, I’m making up a new dish you call a noodle soup because the way you described it made it sound really good. Tok went to go and get some noodles fresh from the market because he’s so fast. I don’t know where Mibata is off to, but I didn’t want to bother him because I slammed his tail on the door. I said I was sorry, but he did that thing where he glares and doesn’t say anything, the thing that makes me really worried he’s gonna snap or something. But, uh, I think we’re fine now. He actually looked kinda happy on his way out, so maybe he’s in a good mood after talking to you.”
A half smirk managed to sneak its way onto my face as I listened to my brother talk. It was great to hear that my half-assed attempt to describe Asian cooking had left such a lasting imprint on him. I knew he’d make something good even if our home town lacked any fish or soybean products, and since he had Mibata asking about spiciness then I knew it was going to be great. As for him worrying if he hurt his brother, that also made me feel relieved as it meant that he was truly remorseful for his unintentional attack against him. I slipped a hand down to my slate and wrote him a message, holding it up to his face so he could peer over the steaming pot at the plank.
“Don’t worry about Mibata, he’s fine and he’s not mad about the tail either.He’s off to tell Raevu’s family that she’s spending the night here. That also means that she’s going to be here to taste your cooking. I’m excited to see how you interpreted such a dish.”
A hearty laugh rumbled from my brother’s chest, which caused the steam coming from the pot to swirl around him as he disturbed it. He adjusted his stance so the pot was no longer between us before slashing me a toothy grin.
“You know I’d never let you down! This soup will be amazing, and you will both love it!”
I chuckled at his declaration before signing that I agreed with him, then turned my attention to Raevu who had been eerily silent since entering the room. She seemed to be completely enamored with our kitchen and was taking in every detail that she could see. It wasn’t surprising that she’d be impressed, as Humey’s organization of the space was pristine and left no empty spaces or gaps. Compared to the bulk food storage area of the Dread Claw kitchen and the haphazard piles of food that I had seen in Dobo’s den, our system of shelving must have looked gorgeous. She wandered into the area for cooking and began running her claws over the jars and bags set in their neat little rows, her eyes sparkling with awe.
“This place is so neat…so clean. It is like the shelves of the scribe hall but for foods. You have wood surface to your cooking area like my family home, but is so smooth and clean. These spices I never seen before or smell before, but together here they smell so good. Oh, is this the stuffs you used in this noodled soup? They look so yummy.”
It was this simple moment of curiosity that sparked a twenty minute long conversation between the three of us about how I had gone through every spice in the cabinet, written down the Earth equivalent, then made a note on what spices worked best together in this life as a kobold. Our conversation ran on long enough that Mibata had enough time to return and relay that his mission was a success, though instead of finding her parents he simply relayed it to her brother. Tokols wasn’t far behind, and with a flourish upon his return he held out a bundle of cheesecloth-like netting with a bundle of freshly made noodles tied within. The noodles were added to the pot, we all had a few laughs as Tokols relayed the tale of how he had to argue with a noodle maker on how many noodles were too many noodles, then we all prepared to eat right as mom and dad came home.
As expected, my brother could knock something as simple as a noodle bowl right out of the park. The heat from both the dried pepper flakes and residual cooking heat, the rich broth made from the root vegetables, the tender slices of beef and the chewy noodles, it was like entering into a noodle shop for the first time again and being taken away by the harmony on my tongue. Everyone else seemed to have the same blissful expression on their faces as they ate, and it was no surprise that everyone asked for seconds and thirds until there was only an empty pot with some lingering bits clinging to the inside. We all had to be careful not to doze off after a meal like that, and there was no better way for that than to strike up some conversation.
Following my advice I passed along to her, Raevu managed to goad my mother into telling us about her monster hunts and how she acquired all of the pelts we had in our home. She told us of how she would venture out into the deepest and farthest tunnels, and way out across the dunes to hunt after anything the scouts had deemed to be a threat to our explorers or traders. As I had assumed, she didn’t just go after her prey, but anything and everything she could swing an ax at was fair game as she carved her way towards her target. As she told it, the number of pelts we had was actually only a third of what she was allowed to bring back, as most of the meat and fur from her hunts was technically property of the city. Still, she got more pay and more meat depending on how much she killed, so she made an effort to find everything she could stomach and make it her prize.
This nugget of information didn’t quite sit well with me, as it meant that my mom was once again letting her impulsiveness dictate her life, and I had already seen firsthand what happened when she let her warrior spirit lead her life. So long as she keeps that desire to prove that she was the strongest kobold alive aimed at the monsters and not me, I would be sleeping a thousand times better. Sleep…that sounds like a grand idea now that I’m full of warm soup. I double checked with my parents to see if they had any objections to letting my friend stay over, which they didn’t before showing her the places she could bunk at. I may have hinted a little too hard that sharing the dorm sleeping pit would be fun and comfortable, but Raevu also seemed to like the idea and was wrapped up beneath a layer of furs and a blanket before I could even finish hanging my bag and slate up on the wall. I decided to take a page out of her book and crossed my arms behind my head before tilting backwards and falling into the bed with a thump. I barely had time to get some covers over myself before Tim rolled over the edge like an iron bowling ball and landed in the bottom of the pit right by my toes. This was the best: a comfortable bed, my best friend snoozing beside me, and my silly little iso-dog resting at my feet. What more could a kobold want?