Dreiki tapped Ezo to get his attention, signing a couple commands to him.
Investigate. I will be Nearby. Wait for signal.
Ezo nodded and lowered its frame stalking forward as Dreiki split off to skulk through the underbrush. He watched Ezo move, listening carefully.
Now was the perfect opportunity to practice what he had learned. He dampened the crunch of the snow beneath his boots. The wind no longer flapped his cloak. He moved silent as a shadow, scaling the trunk of a nearby ingen tree. The crying was coming from a cavity beneath the roots of this tree. Was someone trapped down there?
Once he was in position he whistled at a pitch only Ezo could hear. The bat drake paced forward, nostrils flexing as it attempted to catch the scent of whatever was nearby.
Dreiki closed his eyes to focus. The crying had stopped. He whistled again, signaling Ezo to freeze in place. He scanned the area nearby for tracks. None of them led to this tree. Was it possible there was some sort of monster waiting to snatch whatever came close enough to the cavity?
That was his worst fear, considering there were no tracks. He let out a double whistle to get Ezo’s attention.
Test trap. Throw branch. He signed.
Ezo paced back, finding a suitable branch and tossing it nearby. Dreiki heard a sharp inhale from inside the cavity as if it had been startled.
So perhaps it was not a monster?
“Who’s there?” It was a girl’s voice. Dreiki kept silent, there was still a chance it was not safe.
Ezo paced closer, tilting and bobbing its head like he was trying to get a good look at whatever was inside the cavity. He seemed to catch a familiar scent, letting out a playful whine.
“Oh, it’s you. Hello.”
A flash of red poked out from under the tree trunk, “Wanna come inside my secret base? I’ve got room for you!” She giggled.
Ezo seemed happy to see whoever was beneath the tree. It put Dreiki at ease, somewhat, but it only raised more questions.
That red hair, surely it could not be the same person, right? Plenty of people had red hair. Ezo moved forward and slipped into the cavity.
“Oof! Don’t crush me, dork! I guess your owner lets you out on your own, huh?”
It seemed Rixam had some competition when it came to being the most charismatic of their group. How had the two of them met? Perhaps she had been taking care of him in the stables?
“You getting along with Ragna?”
Ezo barked.
“I’ll take that as a yes. I gotta meet your owner sometime!” There was some rustling.
“You’re real warm, huh? Maybe it’s for the best if your owner isn’t here. I needed someone who could keep a secret.”
Dreiki felt his stomach flutter. Should he even be listening to this right now? There was a long pause. He could hear only the beating of their hearts.
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“To tell you the truth, I’m afraid. Everything that’s been happening lately has been… a lot. I don’t know what to do.” She laughed to herself, “I’m cursed, you know? Malaki are attracted to me for some reason.”
Dreiki’s heart sank. No wonder she was crying.
“I can hurt a lot of people just by being around them, but my friends are accepting of it. I knew they would be, in the end.”
Dreiki could relate. Ever since he had learned about the Osazi, he knew Luna and the others would understand even if he couldn’t tell them.
“I know I should be happy about that, but a part of me feels like it was too easy.” She continued, “I felt like I should have been yelled at, or they should have abandoned me or blamed me. It’s not that I don’t trust them, I just don’t know if they understand it is all,” She laughed, “I don’t even know if all of this is real anymore. I was a mother in another life, you know? It was a life I lived out in my dreams. I made me so happy to see them grow, but it wasn’t all great. It was tough. In the end, though, they made sure I wasn’t alone when I died.” She was crying again, “There’s a part of me that’s thinking ‘what if I wake up from this life too?’ It scares me.”
Dreiki remembered a life he hadn’t really lived. Flashes and memories he had not truly experienced. There was no mistaking it: This girl had read an Ux scroll somehow.
“Sounds crazy, huh? I think I am going crazy a bit, but I feel like I can’t show that to other people or they’ll get worried for me. I prefer people to be happy when they see me. I always think about how sad they’d be if they saw me like this. I feel like I need to be happy all the time so they feel there’s at least one thing in this world that’s always happy. They’ve all told me things. They’ve all given me their sadness and their grief, and I’ve accepted it.” She took in a shuddering breath, “But I don’t feel like I can ever give it back, y’know? Especially since what they’ve gone through is a lot worse than anything that’s ever happened to me.”
Dreiki knew that feeling too well. As much as Dreiki had suffered, people like Luna, Rixam, Gornax, and even Ezo had been through far worse. Who was he to complain about shortcomings when everyone else persevered through things far more difficult?
“It’s not like that other life was bad, but I guess that’s what gets me. I loved my sons with all my heart. I loved their father. And now I don’t even know if they were real. I like to think they existed at some point, but I just don’t know. But what if they didn’t? What then?” There was silence, “Your mane is really soft.” She said, “You’ve got scars too, huh? There’s a boy in camp who’s got one across his nose. Makes me wonder what happened to him.”
Dreiki recalled the white haired noble from before. Could it be that she was one of the six Tadios had mentioned before? So she was his enemy, in the end. At least for now.
“That scar is the only reason I think there might be more to him. He shows it sometimes. He’s kind when it comes to his siblings. I can tell he really loves them. I wonder if he’ll ever tell me his story like the others? Maybe I’ll be able to tell him mine.” Another pause, “I doubt it, though. Even if he cared about someone more than himself, I doubt I would ever let him know. If I did, I doubt even more that he’d understand.“
She giggled, “You’re real cute, y’know? You’re a good listener. I guess that’s what these big ears are for huh?”
Ezo grunted, letting out a big huff.
“What, don’t like it when I play with them?”
Ezo whined.
“Alright, alright, I’ll stop,” she giggled, “You’re a real happy drake, though, despite your scars, huh? That tells me your owner’s a good person.”
Dreiki felt a jolt knowing she was talking about him now.
“I hope he didn’t make these scars, but then again I doubt you’d be very trusting of strangers like me if he had, huh? You wouldn’t be so cuddly with people.”
She was very astute. To think she could understand that without knowing what Ezo had been through.
“Thanks for listening. I think I just needed to talk about it to someone. I don’t really understand it, though, so maybe we can do this again? I’m sure you’ll hear me crying around here again if I do need to talk about it. I should get back to everyone else. I was supposed to be taking these scrolls to them.”
Dreiki perked up. Scrolls?
“I suppose it wouldn’t be a lie to tell them I got distracted cuddling a cute bat drake, would it?” She giggled, climbing out of the cavity. Dreiki slipped behind the trunk of the tree, his cloak blending in with its bark. He enhanced his vision to get a good look at her. If it was true they had Ux scrolls, then perhaps there was something more he could learn from them? If this is where she hid them, he could always come back.
He watched her leave for the camp. The sun was starting to go down. It would be dark soon. He felt connected to her in a strange way. He wanted so badly to call out and tell her he had been listening and that he understood, but he held back.
After all, would someone like her even appreciate a Noxa eavesdropping on her most vulnerable moment?