“I’ve come to return your knife,” Tulos said, presenting the shiny handle of a copper knife to her, “Freshly smelted and sharpened. It’s practically brand new! Although, I’m uncertain if that washes away any sentimentality you had with it or not.”
Kaara shook her head, taking the knife, “I thought it’d stay forever as a bell, so I was content with losing it. Thanks for returning it to me, it means a lot.”
“What’s the story behind the thing anyway? Seemed pretty worn out. Wouldn’t expect a huntress to carry something like that, although I suppose knives are useful.”
“It was a gift.” Kaara remembered Argo, clutching the knife in her palm. Yet another friend who had gone their separate ways. She might never see him again, and she hardly got to say goodbye. She sheathed the knife, “I was in a dark place, and someone cheered me up. They left some food and a note and pinned it with this knife. Told me I could keep it, so I did.”
“I would’ve thought you’d keep the note, but I suppose a knife would last a little longer.”
“Is that the only reason you two came in here?” Kaara asked, looking between them.
“Not exactly.” Amaro said, looking away, “Tulos might strike you as a bit of a gossip, but one thing they do better than gathering secrets is keeping them.”
“So long as you tell me to keep it a secret.” Tulos grinned, “Words have power, and the words ‘it’s a secret’ is an unbreakable pact to me. I happened to hear from my dear brother that you’ve got a secret of your own Kar-Kar!”
“In other words, I need to share this information with my family, but I know that neither Sancta nor Anitus will keep their mouths shut about it. So I’m trusting Tulos, and we’ll be deciding what to do with you afterward.”
“What to do with me?”
Amaro nodded, “I cannot overlook the fact that you’re cursed. That you willingly put my siblings in danger and told none of us about it. But that’s not true is it? Some of them did know. I saw how you talked with that Nephilim girl, Lilith.”
Kaara sat cross-legged. Amaro admonished her with the most calm leveled tone she’d ever heard. And yet she could feel the anger under it, ready to lash out at a moment’s notice if she said one thing out of place.
“I couldn’t tell everyone.”
“Then tell us now,” Tulos said arms crossed, “I’m hearing about a curse, and how it might’ve put my family in danger. What is it? How does it work?”
Kaara gnawed the inside of her cheek, rubbing a thumb to her palm, “I’m not sure, to be honest with you. I’m not even supposed to know about it. One night, I woke up from a nightmare and overheard my parents talking about me. They had just come back from a difficult night. I guess some hunters got injured because of how many Malaki there were. Now that I think of it, ever since I was born we’ve always eaten Malaki for every meal. Apparently the other branches only have it every other day at most.”
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“So you’re saying there’s something about you that’s attracting more Malaki to you?” Tulos summarized, “Can you control it?”
Kaara shook her head, “As far as I know, I can’t. It just happens. It’s been that way since I was born I guess. They were talking about some scrolls-” Kaara’s mind snapped into realization, “The scrolls of Loktiir. They were talking about those scrolls to try and help me.” her thoughts raced, were they the same scrolls as the ones they had found, or different scrolls? They had to be different scrolls, right? So there were more around the lands. And they likely had answers about the world and her curse. Shiira knew about her curse, and she knew about the scrolls.
“Loktiir? I remember seeing that name scrawled across the cave walls. I suppose we know who the scrolls belonged to.” Amaro said, arms crossed, “Regardless, Raktus is dead because of you. Even if you did not intend it to be so, surely there was some way we could have prepared for it if we knew. Who did you tell?”
Kaara felt a twinge of guilt in her gut. As much as she knew she could not control the effects of her curse, those effects still caused pain for other people. She was responsible, whether she controlled her curse or not. In a way, it was almost a relief to have Amaro mad at her like this. It was a different side of him that she had not yet seen. The side which cared deeply for his family and who now grieved stoically over their dead brother, “I told Arik and Rorik first. Then later I told the group of Noxa about it.”
“And you didn’t think to tell any of us about it? After everything we’ve been through?” Amaro said, his anger coming through.
“Would it have stopped you from joining the ceremony?” Kaara asked.
Tulos put a hand on Amaro’s shoulder, shaking his head, “Though I think Kaara bares some responsibility, I believe she made the right choice.”
“How can you say that, Tulos? Raktus is dead!”
“I have eyes and a brain, brother. I know Raktus is dead. I also know how desperately Kaara tried to save him when it happened. No one knew about her curse better than her in that moment, and I doubt anyone feels more guilty about what happened. You wanted me to be here to share in this secret, so be prepared to hear my thoughts on it too.”
Amaro balled his hand into a fist, “No one feels more guilty about his death than I do. I was the one next to him. I was the one who was too weak and slow. If I had just kept training instead of lying around in self pity maybe I would have been fast enough to save him.”
“We were all there. Including Raktus. You know just as well as the rest of us that if those monsters wanted us dead, it was going to happen no matter what. You felt their strength. They were toying with us until they weren’t.”
“I’ve had strange dreams too,” Kaara said, “Ones that led me to the scrolls, and ones which woke me up to hear about my curse. I don’t know what it all means, but that’s the truth of it. I’m sorry about what happened to Raktus. I want to make up for it in any way that I can.”
Amaro sighed, his shoulders slumped, “I can’t bring myself to hate you. Even for Raktus’s sake. If what you say is true, then it really isn’t your fault, but I can tell you feel guilty for it. I’m never going to stop blaming myself for what happened last night either. So…” He took a deep breath, “You don’t need to make up for anything, but I’m going to take you up on your offer anyway.” He extended his hand, “You’re going to become a huntress right? Then come with me. Maybe we can find a way to live with ourselves together.”