A spiteful glance was sent in Thalgar’s direction by William who thought: He just had to wake up now!? How inconvenient... And what about Lucifer? The poor beast slept peacefully just a few meters away from a real troublemaker! How was it in any way safe!?
William stopped up. Expectantly he looked at the man as it was his next move that would determine the outcome of their confrontation…
Thalgar laid sprawled halfway up the entrance’s wall with an uncomfortably bend neck. To alleviate his discomfort he shuffled himself further upward. Then he noticed the frayed cloth bandaged around his stomach and hip area.
Hands went down to investigate what the strange bindings were for only so that he could forcibly rip off the fabric the next second. Hearing the textile be mercilessly ripped to shreds caused a mild shiver to run dow William’s shoulders. He had to admit that Thalgar didn’t seem happy or the least bit grateful for having been cared for…
Once the bindings were off, the man-beast noticed the odd closing wound he had gained. But it didn’t bother him. His reaction to its presence made William ponder if growing a new limb was old news to Thalgar.
From hostile to curious, William kept observing the man, waiting for the ultimate factor to occur. It was then he heard Thalgar mumble, “A falling light…”. William blinked, not sure if the man-beast was trying to initiate a conversation. Thalgar saw this confusion and stated again in a growl, “You are bonded with a falling light”. To not confuse his target any further, he pointed his arm in Lucifer’s direction.
William found his description ominous, so he asked: “What do you mean?”. Beneath the tangled clumps of hair, were an unforeseen wise pair of eyes. They wanted to warn William of something, yet they conveyed nothing but uncertainty.
Thalgar explained, “That fanged creature. I have seen it before… It is a fast creature… It lives a fast life…”. His hand clenched into a fist that he began to slam into his chest along with his own heartbeat. In the beginning, the rhythm was normal, replicating the song of a stable heart. It went “Dum-dum… Dum-dum”, as Thalgar so kindly resounded with his own voice.
A shadow laid his eyes to rest as his hand raised the tempo to what he called a “Du-du-du-du-du-dum…”. Then he stopped his frantic hammering on his chest and added to his otherwise nonsensical words, “Then it stops… Like it, you live faster… Therefore you die faster”.
Gasping for meaning, William tried his best to understand the concept, thus he concluded, “So you mean to say that when Lucifer uses its ability to go faster, it also lives faster, thus it dies faster… And that same effect will also happen to me, now that we are bonded?...”. Thalgar somewhat agreed to his interpretation.
William stared at the cub, which now gave cause to frustration. This injustice had to be put into words, so he flung away his sense of preservation and exclaimed, “But how is that fair!?... I’ve never heard of any abilities causing a penalty like this!? I mean, the Blaises could breathe fire out of their fricking mouths! How is that not life-threatening!?”.
“Fire-breathers?”, Thalgar muttered with a profound expression. He thought for a bit, while William threw a nearby rock off the cliff-side, then he explained, “I have heard of them… They tend to gain sore throats… Or worse… They lose their voice… But this only occurs late in their life-cycle when they are close to dying…”. William felt his eyebrow twitch, “I’ve never heard of this……….”.
Seeing how obstinate William was at accepting the terrible truth, Thalgar chuckled, “If you are obstinate and keep using your ability, you will die in a few years… But... I can fix that”. This kind of phrasing sounded oddly familiar to William.
A minute slipped by before William realized that Thalgar had used similar words to help Julian with. Only they went more along the line of: “You will die… You are sick and weak, but I can fix that”. Phrasing it like that, it was no wonder the protagonist misunderstood Thalgar so badly. Especially when he was so skilled at exuding deadly auras…
Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.
Hearing an identical sentence being used on him instead of Julian, gave William good cause to feel concerned… Why… Was he now supposed to be Thalgar’s rival? Such a thought was scarier than death!...
William quickly glanced back to check if Thalgar’s dinosaur was still unconscious. Then he returned his focus on the blood-crusted man. He had to admit that he was genuinely interested in Thalgar’s proposition. Having him around would bring William multiple benefits. But, first, he needed to know his motives for doing so, “Okay?... Then explain to me how are you going to ‘help’ me and just why are you willing to do so?... And! Another important thing I want to know is: Why are you here? And why did you grow an additional arm?”.
Thalgar wobbly stood up and came closer to the other human being, then he half-heartedly said, “It’s rather simple really… I was careless and thus it grew… But thanks to you, it is now gone. So... Since you helped me I will now help you… But do not take it for granted. For I do not help just anyone…”.
William picked up the scheming look Thalgar wore, but he was too confused to not let the man spew some more. The man-beast added, “And like you, I too have a shared skill… It turns every spirit energy there is, into a beacon for me to discover and hunt… Using it, I will help you track down a suitable energy… Just like I have tracked down this beast for my own profit...”.
William understood that this was the naked truth as it had been told in the book: The man-beast was known for being an excellent treasure-hunter with a knack for energies. That was how he stumbled upon Julian in the first place. He thought that the immense unruly energy came from a worthy dinosaur he could hunt, but to Thalgar’s surprise, it taunted him from within a human shape.
Once William thought of this, he also understood why Thalgar had decided to appear on the mountaintop when he did. It had all been due to his hunt for Kaibalac. And this was no wonder as the beast was a treasure in itself, energy-wise. But just why exactly had a creature like Kaibalac come into existence in the first place…? And why was Thalgar so quick to dance over the odd occurrence of his third arm?...
William caressed his chin, speculating over which things he should say and which topics he should avoid as a precaution. Once he had finished rewrapping his thoughts, he recapped the whole thing, just to make sure that the ridiculous parts weren’t something he had dreamt up, “Ehm… So... You came all this way to kill Kaibalac due to your ability… And then… Somehow you grew an extra limb out of carelessness? Which I then removed... And now you feel that you have to repay me for it? Am I right?”.
To all this craziness, Thalgar simply huffed, “Indeed… I want to repay the deed. Nothing else...”.
“And, if I am to guess it correctly, you intend to do this by having me consume energy? Right? Since by absorbing it can lengthen my now shortened lifespan?”. Thalgar was pleasantly surprised that his plan was so easily caught up on. He confirmed William’s theory with a: “Yes… By adding enough energy. You won’t have to worry about the amount of life you forfeit… But it needs to be of great size to be enough for your consumption...”.
William agreed. If he wanted to use his ability daily, it would be wise to stack up on some years that he would be able to leisurely spend. But just how much energy that would require? He could not fathom…
Still slightly cautious in Thalgar’s presence, William went over to check on Lucifer. Whilst also taking on his role as a proper guardian. “I don’t fully believe that your intentions are pure… But, without my ability… Or rather, our ability… I’m afraid that I won’t be of much help to my friends… So, I’ll do what it takes to attain the power to wield it, but...”.
William picked up the nesting cub and continued in a saddened voice, “First, I need to tell my friends that I am alive and well… And I have to check if Harvick is in need of my help… That is before we go anywhere... If you’re okay with that, then I am willing to let you guide me”.
Thalgar stood with his side facing William. His eyes were gazing on the beautiful view that came from being atop a mountain.
Then, without responding back to William’s request, he went over to rudely clap his dinosaur on the head, “Boros… Wake up”. The dinosaur snorted and blinked half-asleep. It was not well-rested enough to get up, so instead, it continued to daze around like an overdosed dog lying in a pile of sausages.
As Thalgar continued to annoy the creature awake, he also took the time to turn around and accept William’s terms, saying, “I have never been in a hurry. Only weaklings will feel the need for that… No, I will wait...”.