Chapter Two
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For a time, Taka lay still. Feeling the gentle rise and fall of his chest, waiting for his body to recover; for it to cooperate again and stop feeling like a slab of metal. Eventually, it would: he just had to wait, like always.
Arthur and Beriyl still hadn’t left his side—although initially that had annoyed him, he now felt strangely warm in their company. Reassurance. He couldn’t say why, but he trusted them. Sure, Beriyl was insufferable and rude as all hells, but Arthur struck him as a genuinely steadfast person. And besides, Beriyl had seemed honestly worried about him. He still was. His brow knitted, blue eyes glinting with unalloyed concern. They wouldn’t let anything happen to him, Taka realized.
But then the presences receded, and he found himself alone. Their voices talked and faded but he couldn’t make out the words; no, he was hearing them but just couldn’t process what they were saying.
He felt the touch of an unfamiliar hand rest square against his shivering back, then his chest as he was turned over. Bristly and rough, yet smooth and… soft? Feathers? It was certainly no human hand.
“This too, shall pass.”
Peace broke over him like the ocean tide: from the tips of his toes to the ends of his fingers spread a rejuvenating wave of positive energy, curing the malaise. He wasn't sweating anymore; his skin wasn't clammy and pallid; his limbs no longer felt like iron; his palms weren’t burning; and his eyes didn't dare resist as he fluttered them open to a clear blue sky… and two birdfolk peering down at him alongside Beriyl and Arthur.
“Hello, kid! That should make you feel better! Take it easy!” A white, tropicbird-like birdfolk chirped, his tone and mannerisms bursting with energy. For a second, Taka thought he was wearing eyeliner; but then he realized that no, that was just the color of the area around his eyes.
Taka blinked, then sat up.
“Uh, h- hello.”
The other birdfolk, who was distinctly ravenlike in appearance, was standing by the white one’s side. He had on a poncho which matched his feathers, and underneath it some kind of thin leather breastplate. He shook his head tiredly and turned to chide his overly energetic companion.
“That is rather rude, Qlul. He may not be a child.”
With that, the black-feathered one pushed up his spectacles and shifted his focus back toward Taka. Taka, who was busy thinking about how this birdfolk had a strangely “sagely” feeling about him. He just looked very… smart, for lack of a better word.
“We were following that demon girl,” He began to explain, gesturing with his hands and head as he spoke. “…and I suppose you by extension. Quite an interesting scene, that was. We stepped in when you collapsed, and Qlul here helped you. Tell us, what exactly happened?”
“Um… oh, uh, yeah sure, but uh…” He’d been put on the spot, and in the moment that was the best reply he could muster. Having said that, he met the white birdfolk’s gaze, extending a genuine smile. “Um, Qlul, right? Thanks.”
Beyond that he really wasn’t sure what to say. The amount of things the black-feathered birdfolk had just said felt really overwhelming to him. Apparently, these two had “saved” him, but… talk about eccentric. The white-feathered, cloaked one was Qlul, and he had no name for the raven one. In response to his thanks, the former hastily nodded.
“Of time, problem…” Qlul raised a hand to his chin in sheer confusion, muttering to himself. “…what was the saying again?”
The black birdfolk sighed, crossed his arms, and shook his head.
“It’s; ‘Of course, no problem.’ What is the matter with you?”
Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
Taka stifled an amused snort. He’d been saved by a pair of very eccentric birdfolk, indeed. But maybe it was rude to call them eccentric? Hmm. Were all birdfolk like this? He’d seen some on several occasions over the years while accompanying Dane on his voyages, but he’d never really gotten the chance to speak at length with any of them. So he really just didn’t know. Okay, no, that wasn’t true. He’d overheard Dane’s conversations with Birdfolk merchants before and they were all perfectly normal. Okay, so then these guys were just weird? He shook his head; he was overthinking things again. Also, it wasn’t nice to-
“Okay, well… um, what happened is-”
Taka forced himself to start talking, hoping the words would come to him naturally. They more or less did, although he stumbled over his explanation a few times; of course, Beriyl took that as an opportunity to laugh at him. Despite his fumbling, the pair of birdfolk (and Arthur) listened intently and respectfully. Unlike a certain half-elf.
“I see. I am glad you were able to reobtain your stolen coinpurse.” The sagely, even-toned birdfolk finally said at the end of Taka’s retelling of the last hour. He’d gone off track at a certain point and just started rambling, but at least it had given them ample context. Besides, they’d said they were curious, so…
“To answer your question, I am Ecirr Rorrark.” He descended into a courtly bow.
“Now, I apologize, but we really must be going. We’re a bit low on coin at the moment due to a certain someone, so we really need to be getting over to the Guild.”
Ecirr shot a nasty glare in Qlul’s direction – who hung his head in shamed silence in reply — before glancing back with an obviously forced smile. “Remember to take care of yourselves. Fare you all well.”
And with that, he turned and headed away, Qlul humming a chipper tune and bouncing hyperactively about right behind him.
Taka stared after them as they departed, feeling oddly forlorn. Part of him wanted to call out to them, to keep talking, but the part that stopped him from doing so had no idea what there was left to even talk about. They’d helped him, yes, but they were still strangers. There was no reason for them to stick around. And they were busy, so, it didn’t really matter if he wanted them to stay or not: they simply couldn’t. Regardless, he did feel genuinely grateful for Qlul’s help.
‘Ecirr and Qlul… I hope I get to meet them again.’
He hadn’t even been able to give them his name. That made him feel a little bad, but then again, neither of them had asked, so maybe it wasn’t that big of a deal. But even still, if they met again, he’d have to be sure to-
“Taka, are you feeling all right, now?” It was Arthur, bending down to meet his gaze and extending a calloused hand in offering.
“O- oh, yes. I’m feeling way better.” He accepted it and felt himself quickly lifted to his feet. His stomach growled angrily.
“Still starving, though.” He muttered, pressing his hand against it. As if that would make him feel any less hungry. “My stomach feels like a hollow pit…”
‘Honestly, I really should have eaten more, and earlier. Again though, this could have been entirely prevented if I’d just stopped at the tavern after getting my license, even, but whatever… Something-something foresight, something-something eat food, idiot. Okay, shut up, me.’
Arthur laughed: It was not a mean laugh, but a kind and hearty one. For the first time, Taka had seen Arthur smile, and that alone made him smile. He’d looked awfully dour earlier, so Taka was glad he seemed to be in a better mood now.
“Good. You look better, too. Less pale.”
In the background, Beriyl was trying to hide it, but right before he turned away Taka swore he caught a glimpse of the noble’s lips upturning into a smile as well.
“Let us away then, toward the tavern!” he’d cried, charging off in the direction of said tavern.
Taka laughed through his nose.
‘He seems to be in a good mood.’
With that, the two had no choice but to follow Beriyl to the tavern or be lost forever. At least, that's probably what the half-elf was thinking.
In reality, Taka and Arthur had a fairly decent idea of where it was, and could have more than likely made their way there themselves. Beriyl seemed to want to pretend he was the party leader, even though no such party had been formed.
On their way out of the market, Taka noticed three guards surrounding a merchant’s stall. The one in full plate was clearly a knight of Hamelan; he cut an imposing figure for sure, with his elegant, gold-trimmed and regal stature, to the point Taka was glad he wasn’t the one having to talk to him.
Suddenly, the man turned, then noticed and met his gaze—no, to say he was boring a hole directly into Taka’s soul was more apt. His face was long, stern, and gaunt with age; his eyes sunken and cold. That’s when it hit Taka that he had been staring. With a shudder, he averted his eyes and sped up his pace so he could be closer to Arthur.
Guards had always made him a bit nervous. Okay, more than a bit nervous. It wasn’t like he’d ever done anything wrong, they just weren’t typically the most approachable of people. Plus, that Hamelan knight back there had seemed especially, eh… intimidating?
He turned his thoughts away from the guards and the market; If they were looking for the half-demon girl, he could only hope she managed to stay out of trouble. Thoughts like that ran through his head as they finally arrived before the tavern.