My moment of shuteye ended when the empty pot of food thunked against the counter and the arrival of a warm aura from the other side of the pit. Humey sat opposite of us and rubbed a hand along the back of his neck, then with a heavy sigh he fell back into the cushioning with a blank face. I could tell that he was worn out already and probably wanted to talk about it, so I flexed my tail and tapped at his knee to get his attention. His eyes swiveled down to look at me, and with a slight grunt he leaned forwards enough to put his arms behind his head.
“You wanted to know about what happened with the mines, right?”
I nodded in agreement before he continued on.
“Well, I guess you could say there was an accident with one of the tunnels. Not anything serious, but something that had us shut down number three for the day, which is where we were mining today. There are these room made just for catching water that gets down there, but the one for the third tunnel broke into the main junction and started flooding the place.”
That sound like poor planning putting the drain chamber so close to a mine, but I'm no architect or city planner. Hopefully nobody drowned down there. I decided to jot down just that question for him.
“Is everybody alright?”
Humey's reply came through a shrug and a frown.
“Uh, sorta, but that need some explaining. So I was actually down in the mines getting a cart back down to the crew when all the water came pouring in. In just a second or two the water went from my toes to my knees, and for everyone else that's close to their chest. Most of the others started panicking and saying that they were all gonna drown, but I told them that they could get in the cart and I could bring them back to one of the safe areas. They got in, I pushed it back to safety, and everything was okay for them so I went over to the boss and asked how I could help. There were more of them still missing, and I just couldn't ignore that.”
Humey let out a sigh, and as he stretched I heard some of his joints crack. He closed his eyes as he recounted further.
“It turned out that only half of our buddies had made it back from the other tunnels, and with there being water pouring in so fast there was a high chance that some of them were going to drown. Lucky for everyone, they had me and Duryofe on the crew, and we were asked to wade through the tunnels and get as many of our pals out as we could. It took a while, but we got everybody before anyone could die, but quite a few had been under the water for a bit and needed to go to this big clinic down on the lower floors. Last I heard they had everyone who needed help there, and everyone who wasn't hurt was working to block the leak.”
Damn, that sounds like a crisis narrowly dodged, or a miracle made real. I can only imagine how stressful it must have been for him to be ferrying so many around, all while wading through so much water. I leaned forward and placed a hand on his knee while giving him a reassuring smile. I was proud of him for acting so selflessly. He peeked at me under his eyelids and smiled as he spoke again.
“You know, I offered to help with the barricade, but the boss ordered me to go and get some rest before I collapsed. I didn't feel like I was gonna drop so easily, but when I got back to one of the rooms where we keep our gear in I almost passed out when I felt that bench under me. Gosh, I was so exhausted and didn't even know it, I might have actually gotten in everybody's way if I fell in the leak. I didn’t want to just sit there while everyone else was working, but there wasn’t any strength in my legs.”
Humey moved one of his hands to massage the bridge of his snout for a moment. His hands moved to his thighs as he leaned forward, his features going somewhat hard to read. Was he angry, or perhaps sad? I couldn't tell until he cleared his throat and spoke again.
“I'm…ugh, how do I say it? The rescue was really stressful and wore me out, but something that happened afterwards made it all better, in a way. Duryofe came to the same room and sat with me because she also tried to help out but was told to take a break. She surprised me and started talking to me, saying that I impressed her by saving her friends. I messed up by saying the same compliment right back to her and made it all awkward, but she kept on talking until it got sort of normal feeling, like she wasn't hiding from me.”
A smile appeared on his face as he remembered it, and seeing him display such joy made me feel the same thing. I leaned forward and put my elbows on my knees, eager to hear more of what he was saying.
“We talked for a while about lots of stuff. Turns out she was avoiding me ‘cause I’m the only boy she’s ever seen who was as big as her. I don’t know if that scared her or made her uncomfortable, but she didn’t seem to mind it today. It was good to hear that from her and I even made a joke about it, but then she started shivering and said she was cold from all the rescuing we did. I tried to help her out by using my fire to warm the room up so she wouldn’t be cold, then she leaned over and put her shoulder to mine. Being so close to her made me feel weird, but it was a nice feeling. I dunno how to explain it…”
The unmistakable darkening of the red on his cheeks indicated that he was blushing. His pitch black eyes darted between Raevu and myself a few times before his hands shot up and covered his face. This was adorable in its own way, but I felt like I was a bit lost here. A glance at Raevu’s awestruck face told me that I really was missing something. What are you giggling at me for, I really don't understand what's going on here! Why would he get so embarrassed about her getting closer to him? Could it be-
The realization of what was going on here was like a wooden mallet to the forehead. Was I really that oblivious to the clear signs that my brother had a crush? A mixed bag of emotions all spilled out at that moment, everything from uncontaminated jubilation for my brother's sake to the urge to punch myself on the nose for being so dense. My body didn't seem to know which feeling to respond to, leading to me flopping back in my seat in stunned silence while Raevu chuckled and shook my arm. Just give me a minute here, this is a bit much for me.
My thoughts took a while to get back to the point where I could communicate again. I changed seats so that I was sitting next to Humey, placing an arm around his shoulders and pulling him into a one armed hug. He made a soft whining noise as he curled forwards, but this didn't stop me from patting him on the back. Oh Humey, why are you such a lovable goof?
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I glanced at Raevu to see why she was being so quiet, and to my surprise she was sitting there holding her own mouth shut and letting us deal with this as siblings. I snapped my fingers and pointed towards my slate, then when it was in my hands I began to write with it on my lap while I kept a hand on my brother. When my words were written I poked him on the arm with the plank a few times until he sat back up and uncovered his face. His face was still a deep crimson hue as he took the board in his hands.
“Humey, it's okay. You don't need to be ashamed or embarrassed about this. It's okay to say that you like her. Just go ahead and tell me how you feel about her and I will support you all the way.”
His big eyes filled with hope as his pursed lips cracked into a grin. He leaned into my hug until his head was practically on top of mine, his giddy laughter shaking both of us. I hid the wincing face I made when his weight settled against me by pulling myself closer to him and laughing with him. I couldn’t see what face he was making, but I could feel his voice through the back of my head as he spoke.
“I like her a lot. Bata and Tok always say I was being too shy with her, but I kept on doing like you said and waited. I always thought she was so amazing being so strong and caring, but her keeping away from me made me so sad. When we left the room today she was so pretty, and for the first time she was smiling at me. Do you think she likes me too?”
One hand reached up and scratched the top of his head while the other wrote what I thought about it. No simple thumbs up would convey these thoughts.
“I think so. My guess is she was nervous around you because she does, and today was big progress for her. Besides, how could she not? You’re the biggest, nicest guy I know, and I’m proud of you being that way. Just take your time with her big guy, don’t rush things.”
The spike in temperature coming off of him told me that I’d made him even happier, and though it made me feel like I was face to face with a bonfire I stayed where I was. Thankfully he came off of the euphoric high and went into some kind of cool-down state, and I only then realized that there was something slightly damp rolling down over my eyebrow. Is he crying? If the odd purring sound coming from him is any indication, then these must be tears of joy. Sheesh, what am I going to do with you Humey?
Eventually he had enough of snuggles and excused himself for a moment, leaving just us girls in the room. My eyes settled on Raevu, who had been watching me like some kind of predator since Humey had rested his head on mine. She crawled around the seating area until she was next to me, and leaning close to me she started whispering.
“Oh goodness, Kayrux, this sound so romantics! Love story is my favorite kind, Humey just like person from those! Oh I hope he find love, it such sweetness!”
Raevu swooned and flopped off to the side in an overly dramatic way, making me scoff at her and flick my wrist to dismiss her playful act. This was a side to her that I hadn’t seen before, a side to her that was oddly cheerful. Actually, where the heck are you getting romance novels? Oh wait, she comes from some old clan so she probably has a small library that belongs to the folks. Wouldn’t surprise me if rich kobolds were all about that sappy stuff. Well as long as she’s happy for him, that means we are of the same mind.
Now that I think about it, there’s a lot of unknowns in this scenario for me. First of all, we’re less than a year old, so aren’t we technically minors? I haven’t really asked around for exact details, but when are we considered fully matured and capable of laying eggs? Eugh, I don’t like the idea of that, but it might just sound gross to me since I used to be a mammal. Guess I can just ask mom when she comes back from work.
Second issue, I don’t actually know much about this gal that Humey has feelings for. All I remember is her pitch black scales, her death-glare she made towards me, and the fact that she’s another of the rare large sized kobolds around here. I wish I knew more about her, like how old she is and what her other job is, but it’s not really my place to ask these kinds of questions without seeming nosy in my brother’s private life. He’ll probably tell me all about her when he gets to have some more time with her.
Third thing that’s nagging at me, and I already think I know the answer, but why am I just now hearing about this? He said that our brothers knew about his feelings already, but why not me? My best guess is he knows how I act in regards to the unknown. I poke it, prod it, and try to figure it out, and he was probably certain that I would start doing just that to his potential girlfriend. The notion of him getting a significant other bothers me a little, though that might just be the paranoia talking. Take your own advice here Kay, just keep your distance and let things play out naturally.
I metaphorically tossed those thoughts aside right as Humey came back into the main room with his own journal he had been keeping. I’d kept my eyes off of it and ignored it ever since he had begun secretly keeping it, but it seemed that now he was deliberately letting me see it. He finished his entry and hugged the book to his chest, then quickly came back to the edge of the sitting area and began to flip through the pages of his journal. I tried to peek into the book to see what he was writing, but a wary side eye from him made me turn my head to the side and wait for him to find what he wanted me to see.
Eventually he turned to a page devoted to multiple sketches of various kobolds and pieces of scenery and let me take hold of the journal. He pointed to the items one by one and began to detail them.
“These are my drawings of all the things I like. This is the really big mine we go to for crystals and sometimes to find small monsters to eat. This is the boss when he was napping on one of the carts. These two are Lokaten and Trebo, they sometimes do these fake fights with shovels and make everyone laugh with jokes. These little colored ones at the bottom are the crew, just so I can remember the names.”
He reached over and turned to the next page, which surprised me by being dedicated to one particular kobold. Jet black scales with blue streaks running down her back, a broad frame made for heavy duty work, and a flat triangular head with triceratops-like horns. There was a sketch of her pushing one of the large minecarts full of ore, one of her sitting on a rock drinking from a proportionately small cup, and a third image of her posed with her hands on her hips beside a lanky kobold tagged as her best friend. Most prominent of these pictures was a portrait style image of her face caught mid-laugh, her jagged fangs on full display and her beady blue eyes squeezed shut. I still don’t know what kobolds consider to be attractive, but I could see the appeal of her based on the body language that Humey was able to convey through art. I looked up to him and saw that beet-red color return to his cheeks.
“So, um, what do you think?”
Are you looking for my approval of her? I hope not, because I am the least qualified person in this house for that. No, he’s not going to accept that as an answer, but that’s what I tell myself to mitigate any form of guilt I feel for giving him an unsatisfactory answer. Might as well eat my own words and be honest with him.
“The girl or the art? Just kidding, I know what you mean. The drawing is fantastic, but the girl is something else. She’s cute, and I think that if you’re this into her then you might as well try your luck and get to know her better. Start by asking her about things she likes, share a little about yourself too. Just don’t make it weird and keep being yourself.”
Humey took the slate and beamed at it, smiling brighter than even the awful disc of doom sitting in the kitchen right now. Something about making that serpentine smile appear was addicting, and made it all the more rewarding to see those big dark eyes shine enough that the red specks became known. Before I could react to it he pulled me from my spot and gave me a bear hug, physically dragged me out of my seat. No, wait, don’t spin me! If there’s one thing I hate even after being put into a new body, it’s being spun around by someone bigger than me. Thankfully he only wanted to spin me two or three times, I couldn’t tell with my eyes closed, then set me back on the ground so I could put my hands to my knees and try to catch my breath. You and Vimna both with the rib crushing thing, what’s with that?
After a bit of apologizing from Humey and goofy cackling from Raevu, the room quieted down once more and we all could just relax for a little while. I went and got the hovering death disc from the shelf and showed it to Humey, and somehow the two invented this game of making it hover at Raevu’s height and tossing it around the room like some sort of air hockey puck. While they had their fun, I went ahead and checked the clock and realized that it was close to time for everyone to start filing home. Guess the only thing I can do now is hurry up and get some idea of what to make for dinner. If Humey and Raevu liked the oddball chili stew thing, then maybe I could go into the uncharted waters of scratch made, random ingredient curry. Something tells me this might be the first dish I fail at, but at least I'll fail while doing something from the heart.