Corvio looked at Dreiki as if he had asked the most idiotic question possible, “After they eat the throats of their victims, they speak in their voice! Then they steal their faces, so they can puppet them around.”
Dreiki cupped his chin, “And have they puppeted any of the adults or anyone else you mentioned? Or have they only spoken with their voices?”
“What does it matter?! They eat their throats just the same!”
Dreiki’s eyes hardened, “It matters because from what it looks like to me, the Oskuutor are selling you an illusion that they have to swallow the throats of their victims in order to mimic their speech.”
“I’ve seen it! I know it’s real you fucking Noxa! I know!”
“I’ve seen them too, and their speech was less like a stolen voice, and more like a crow repeating what it's heard.”
“That’s right.” Arik said, “We met an Oskuutor who tried to lure us with someone else’s voice too, but there was something off about it. Like the words it spoke only changed a little bit, but kept the same tone. Malaki don’t understand our languages, that much we know. Although, I can confirm the one they were puppeting was definitely a match for the voice, so Corvio’s probably right here, Argo.” Arik said, a cold distance in her eyes to keep her from thinking of what that meant.
Dreiki shook his head, “The Oskuutor we encountered was likely mimicking the last things that one said before he was killed. All it did was omit the last portion to lure more people in. Tell me Corvio, have they puppeted an adult at all?”
“They haven’t, but that doesn’t mean anything!”
“No, it means everything. If they can mimic what they hear, but they can only puppet what they’ve stolen the face of, then voices are not enough to confirm they’re dead.”
“You’re only deluding yourself! They’re dead! They have to be!”
“What do you mean ‘they have to be’?” Dreiki snapped back.
“I mean- I-... They’ve got to be dead, or…”
“Or you abandoned them.” Dreiki finished, “Or you ran for no reason.”
“Shut up! I’m tired of you talking you filthy fucking Noxa! Acting like you know everything, when you’re just a stupid fucking peasant born half breed! You’re in on it with them! You’re just manipulating us, so we go out and allow ourselves to be caught by them again!”
Corvio lunged, but Tadios pushed him away, “Where have I heard words like that before?” He said, breaking Corvio’s nose, “Oh yeah! After my parents were killed, none of you could stop sayin’ that shit about me!”
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Arik grabbed his arm, but Tadios relaxed, “I’m fine.” He sighed, “Argo’s right. The Malaki know how to make us afraid. They know how to make us turn on ourselves. It don’t matter what weapons we have, or what shields we raise. They know how to break all of that. Until we’ve pointed what’s left to ourselves. For the longest time, I felt like I was a Malaki. Not because of anything the Malaki did, but because of what other people called me. I felt like I was being turned into one. I felt like I might as well be one if that was what was expected of me.” Tadios let go of Corvio’s shirt, “Argo ain’t helpin’ the Malaki, he’s saved us more than you can count. He’s the reason you’re still alive and we’re not being paraded around atop our own spears right now. If he thinks our friends are still alive, then I trust him.”
“If I could chime in too,” Sancta said, “Lowborn as the Noxa is, he makes a good point, and he’s rather astute in his observations. If the Oskuutor could truly steal our voices they would speak and communicate properly. However, there is no record of a Malaki being able to speak our language beyond mimicry.”
“Then explain why there are less and less adults who come back to camp every night!” Corvio said.
“That happens every year,” Tadios said, “It’s not because they’re dyin’. It’s because they’re staying behind all hours of the day to keep the Malaki from prematurely starting the ritual and raiding our camp. This is the first year you’ve noticed it probably because you knew you’d be participatin’.”
“My older brother took part in the ritual!” Corvio said, “He told me all about what happened to him. We’re not meant to face this many Malaki at a time!”
“And did your brother come to the conclusion that we are just sacrifices?” Dreiki said.
“No, but this year it is! It’s different. The adults must be sacrificing us now.”
“There are a lot of reasons this year is bigger than others. More participants, the heirs of legendary bloodlines, even the favored prince himself. There are valuable souls for the Malaki that want to steal them, so why wouldn’t there be more than usual?” It was not the full explanation, but telling people about Kaara’s curse was likely going to get her killed at this point in the ceremony.
“Yeah! You heard what the chief said, this is a platinum generation! Of course there’s more Malaki.” Tadios said.
“It’s too many!” Corvio said.
“Well you can stay within the safety of this tree until the night is over. If you don’t know where Kaara and the others are, then we’ve wasted our time here.” Dreiki said, turning away, “I’ve got my own friends who are still fighting out there, and it doesn’t feel right to hide. The fact that Ezo has still not returned has me worried enough.”
The trunk of the tree opened as the four of them stepped through, “At the very least, if they have died, I want to find a way to reclaim their souls,” He said, blowing his whistle again.
The tree closed behind them leaving a nook for Corvio to stay in.
“Jeeze, seein’ Corvio like that…” Arik said after a few minutes of trudging through the snow.
“I know what you mean,” Tadios said, “I wouldn’t have expected him to act like that, but I guess he’s always been paranoid.”
Dreiki looked between the two of them. He did not know Corvio very much. The only side of the xio he had seen was that of the reluctant leader of the Tibur. When Corvio had acknowledged his efforts during the war games, Dreiki thought he had changed his mind about Noxa, but it became clear that hatred was still rooted within him. So long as Noxa were useful, they were praised. When times were difficult, though, they were the first to suffer.
Tadios put his hand on Dreiki’s shoulder, “Don’t worry about what he said. He’s not a bad guy, but he’s just scared.”
“I understand, but that fear can spell death for me and my friends.”