CW:

New POV!!! AHHH. Rahdian is her name. And after many chapters waiting... it is time. Crab time. CLAB time. Talk of scars and cold things and such!

“Stupid stupid b–”

I can very nearly hear the Storm growl from the back of my mind. It’s soft but… insistent. You may insult your foolish decisions… They had growled, but you will NOT backslide into hurting yourself with that.

I sigh as I glare out into the white out blizzard that’s blanketed the Frozen Lake of Arudia for the past week.

“Fine.” I murmur to my resting companions. “Thank you.”

They can’t hear me, not when I’m awake. But… I’ll share my experiences with them next time I sleep. They’ll be as bored as I am with how we’ve had to huddle down in this little stable cave for another day but…

A crackling whistling sound… and I go very still. Set to drop my book back down into my little backpack in case I need to run or spin something to defend myself.

Worried that another one of the weird crystal plants is about to twist and crack into another screaming little monster. One that will manifest anything from just a long annoying wail of pain and sadness that literally hurts to bear, or something more deadly. Like the dozen prickling razor sharp quills that last tried to stab me with.

But… to my relief it’s just the friendly little… like… turtle bird shaped and pink tinted friend wandering back to me.

“Help.” It coos and sort of… tumbles over to me. The wing things sprouting from its back are all but useless.

I can’t help but smile and open my arms to the little cutie. Glad for the companionship after I’d awoken alone two… two days ago? Nights? I’m not sure. I’ve slept quite a bit to try and pass the time between reading the three books I have.

But… It really was foolish for me to ignore the carriages and just try to trek across the Frozen Lake. Stupid to think I could just… watch the mountain the Academy sits on and make it there in half the time. Because a blizzard hit right as the Lake began one of its great shifts, and I’d had to hide in this cave ever since! Like… three whole days! Fuck!

But my little friend wibbles up and bumps into my leg, cooing that same word over and over. And obvious demand to pick them up and give them scrutches. “Help. help. hellllP!”

So I do because like… how can I not!?! They are nothing but cute and loving affections where all the others like them range from indifferent to me or downright hostile.

“HeeEeeEeeeEEeeeeeelP.” They preen so softly as I snuggle them close.

They aren’t particularly soft. Not at all in fact. But their body is lighter than a basket of bread and very careful not to cut me with all those sharp edges.

“Hey little friend, where have you been?” I murmur down to it.

“Help… Help!” It whispers back, almost… conspiratorially?

I sigh and gently run fingers over the soft smooth surfaces of the little thing. Wishing it actually could understand me. Wouldn’t just… repeat that word over and over again.

Explain to me just what the fuck is going on with like… everything.

Laying low along the border of Arudia when the like… spirit ocean around and through everything started to boil. Some kind of strange wibbly vibrations echoing from the gemstones. Sending our Dreams into a tizzy and waking days into an anxious mess as we struggled to like… figure out what was going on!

The storm from my Dreams didn’t know, but… then after a week or so the rumors started washing past even the little farming city on the edge of Arudia.

A Sun Spoken was at the Academy. She did like… something. Magic somethings. Caused this boil and eventually, we think, the instability in all the gemstones. It was little things at first, but we could feel the shadows rising up. Hear the gurgle of bubbling life stirring within the gemstones that refused to lessen as these past few weeks rushed by.

And so I did everything I could to get us there. Not because we think we can help, kinda the opposite.

I need HER help. Need a real fucking Sun Spoken to like… explain shit to me. Maybe… maybe even help me finish the um… I shake my head.

Stupid girl. Don’t make that mistake again. Especially not within spitting distance of the Academy. Do you want them to like… lock you up again? Try to take away the gifts the Storm gave you?

“Help help help help help help!” The little gemstone creature in my arms starts to chant.

I quirk my head and sort of… pull back from the little friend. “What is it?”

“Help help he–”

A snap, then a crack, and I’m jerking up as the entire cave shudders and quakes.

“Fuck!” I hiss and gather up my little friend. Pull them close and back up as far as I can into the little cavern.

Then a shadow moves to cover the entrance, and a gemstone creature about… well like… a hundred times larger than anything from before is leaning down to peer into the cavern.

A big crab made of gemstones.

Fuck fuck fuck! I stumble till my shoulders hit the back wall. Barely being careful not to like… stab or cut myself on the strange fauna that grows from it.

A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

“Help!” My little friend coos, begins to like… wiggle and push from me.

I set them down as gently as possible, sure in the knowledge that these things never actually like… try to hurt each other from what I’ve seen.

Only people.

Then it’s scuttling and tumbling out to the big crab, chiming and shouting the entire time the only word it knows over and over again.

“Help help. Help help help! HELP!”

By the time it reaches its much bigger kin, the crab has like… tilted down to peer at them. And then for the first time since I met my little friend it goes quiet. Stops making any sounds entirely.

A long and tense pause, then the little friend turns to regard me.

“Help!”

I just… stare. Eyes probably as big as the moon in fear.

The bigger one seems to like… shift. Reangle that huge shell to reveal a big crack in the seam that runs around it.

“HELP.” It thrums.

I tremble a bit, suddenly worried that like… this little friend had attracted some bigger thing and now they’d work together to hurt or kill me.

But the little one just… scuttles back over and begins to bump into my leg over and over again. Each impact punctuated with a little. “Help.”

I reach down to pick it up. Hold it close as I stare at the larger creature.

But… this big crab could easily just come in here and squish me if it wanted. And um… these are the only two using that word.

So…

Carefully and VERY fucking slowly, I push to my feet. Then, clutching the little friend close, I walk forward to grab my backpack and approach the big crab.

It watches us but only moves to like… lower itself.

Almost like its…

“Help.” the creature in my arms coos.

“HELP.” the big crab thrums.

Huh… Maybe they do know what that word means…

And so like the stupid girl I am, I carefully reach out and like… touch it. It doesn’t move, just… stares.

My little friend wiggles, then whispers impatiently. “Help.”

I sigh and… and… fuck. What am I even like… supposed to even… Bu–

Then, without warning and so much faster than this big thing should be, the closest giant claw snaps out. And before I can do more than yelp in fear it has me by the waist and is lifting me to… To plop gently down on the back of the shell. Sit frozen in startled fear amongst a sea of twinkling gemstone fauna that grow abundantly all around. A crack, then a shuffle, and the big crab rises before beginning to scuttle through the storm.

I pull my coat and hood tight, even go ahead and reach out to pull the scarf from my backpack to wind about my face. Just… just in case this thing dumps be at the feet of some grouping of women. Don’t need to be showing my face off, even if the healing has already done so much for me.

As I settle back down for what I hope to be a short trip, my little friend nuzzles and wiggles into a comfortable burrow in my lap. Seems to fall into a little tittering sleep.

I glance about but… no. Not only would that be silly in light of whatever the fuck is going on but… with all the gemstone fauna growing from this things shell I’d very easily cut myself on one of the various edges.

So I slump forward and just… watch the thick blanket of white that seems so dedicated to bury the land.

And… fuck I’m suddenly like… how do I like… find her? Get her to agree to meet some girl who won’t even show her face? Do… Do I tell her that I’m Sun Spoken too? Will that be a safe thing to share?

I mean… it should, and I kinda have to if I expect her to share any knowledge with me. But… fuck the only other people I told any of this kinda fucked me over. Forced me to run fast and hard all the fucking way to the Arudian border.

So…

I turn my attention down to my wellspring of Amwella. Considering…

How many days is that good for? If like… I ONLY use it for healing my body?

Um… three? Less? I mean… I’m already rationing it. And fuck has fucking been just… kinda a hard thing for me to get the courage to ask for sex these days. Both because of um… so many women not being super happy at the idea of a lover wanting to keep all her clothes on. But… also like…

I had a good pair of lovers. They put up with my nonsense, respected my boundaries for like… almost a year! Why the fuck did I risk it all by telling them?

I can’t help but drop my head into my hands. Take a few deep breaths as this big friend carries me closer and closer to the last place I should be rushing to.

The Storm warned me it would be a horrible idea. Saw my past and what the women of the age would not take well when they saw the body beneath. How they… Even if they weren’t interested in the rewards offered for my capture, how they would feel such a sense of duty to turn me in.

Fuck. Maybe in like… a few years, after I’ve finished healing and hiding everything I can start to trust someone again. Maybe…

NO! STOP IT! NO FUCKING WAY!!!

Even if this Sun Spoken is kind you cannot, under ANY circumstances, tell her what you are. Don’t be stupid again!

“Help?” My little friend murmurs.

I open my eyes to find that… that a few tears have fallen onto them.

“Fuck. Sorry little friend.” I murmur as I try to wipe the droplets away.

But… huh. I think I got them off but… Did it always have those three little sparkles along its–

A jerk, a crunch, and I’m looking up to see that we’ve arrived at a main road. Already at the foot of the mountain!

“Wow. That… was I already this close or are you just incredibly fast?”

I pat the big friend on the back, then with a twist it’s bringing such a big claw back up to my side as it lowers itself to the ground.

In a rush of probably stupid trust, I reach out and grab the offered limb. Once a foot is hooked on a bottom divot the big crab lifts and settles us into the snow below.

I can’t help but turn and just… stare up at the thing. Take in the shape and colors and…

“Help.” It thrums.

“Thank you!” I lean forward to hug this big things hovering claw awkwardly with one arm. “I don’t even know how. Or why or–”

A shout comes from behind me, and I turn to see a trio of duenna rushing out of a building on the edge of this little village at the foot of the mountain. Swords drawn and little stars glowing in spare hands.

“W– Wait!” I shout in sudden worry. Spread arms to try and shield and show these duenna that my big friend is not a threat.

Wince at how my voice cracks, even after all this time…

They pause about halfway between us and their building. Eyes now visible beneath their hoods.

I turn and pat my big friend, even settle the smaller down into the snow.

“I’m um… not sure if you should come with me.”

My little friend nuzzles close to my leg. Begins to paw and bump into me over and over in an obvious demand as it growls. “Help. Help. HELP!”

So I sigh and pick it back up. Look to the big crab in worry. Will… will they try to come along too?

But… it only bumps my shoulders gently with a big claw and thrum a final “Help.” before turning and beginning to trudge off back into the blizzard.

“Um… Thank you!” I call after it. Pulling my little friend close as I watch it fade into the wall of white.

Deep breath. Hoping really hard that whatever this was won’t like… ruin my first impression with these duenna. And turn to trudge through the nearly waist-high snow to the trio.

“Hi!” I say stupidly as I get within what seems to be earshot.

Their eyes are already locked on me. Blades lowered or holstered while gemstones remain out but… no longer glowing.

“What?” The middle of them asks as I stop about six feet away.

“Oh um… I was just saying hello.” I smile, but then remember that my mouth and most of my face is covered and the scarf is probably muffling my words. I curse internally but… can’t really remove it without causing problems. “Sorry to startle! I’m honestly just as surprised as you that it wanted to give me a ride here.”

They glance between each other, then back to me, then to my little friend.

“Who… Okay who are you and why is there a little Carbunkle in your arms?”

“Help!” It greets happily.

“And how did you get a big Carbunkle to bring you here instead of just… smushing you?” Another asks.

I nod and just… hope that giving away this knowledge now won’t fuck me over. Or… okay maybe I can like… use what they just saw to like…

“My name is Rahdian, and I need to speak with the Sun Spoken staying here at the Academy.”

A long pause, before finally the middle duenna tilts her head. “Which one?”

Wh– Which one!?! There’s more than one!?! But… Fuck I don’t want to seem stupid! Or… like… but...

“Are they not together? Or… close enough to visit both?”

She shakes her head. “One is currently resting and is not to be disturbed. The other is staying in a noblewoman’s house.”

“Oh… Then take me to her then.” I nod, then add. “Please.”

The duenna seem to calm a bit, holster the gemstones. “We are under orders to pass all communications to a Sun Spoken through the Doyans. And while your entrance and… companion…” She nods to my little friend. “Will definitely quicken the process, you will probably need to wait at least a few hours. Maybe longer.”

Fuck. FUCK! I do not need like… all of that. Nope nope nope. Meeting the literal Doyans of the fucking academy is such bad idea that is just… begging for me to get caught.

“Oh… um… I mean I can just go to that house myself. No need to disturb anyone or bother your Doyans!”

“Those are our orders.” She pauses, considers her words. “There’s tension at the current events. Between the Doyans and the Sun Spoken. These steps are meant to keep the peace.”

I slump and sigh. Considering my options…

“I… Fuck. I really was just… hoping to get her help with something. It doesn’t even like… it’s nothing that affects anyone but me.” I huggle my little friend closer as my worries curdle into a little bubbling anxiety in my stomach.

The duenna opens her mouth to say something.

“Help!” My little friend chirps. Cutting her off.

A long pause.

“May I ask what exactly you need to speak with the Lady Sun Spoken about? Does it pertain to…” She motions to my little friend. “That. Them? The gemstones in general?”

“Um… No? But… I mean you can ask but… It’s private and I’m not really willing to talk about it with anyone but her.”

She sighs, looks around. “Look we’re all freezing our tits off. How about we get inside before discussing the particulars? Get a hot meal and drinks?”

I huff, look down to my companion. It twists up, devoid of eyes but… I can tell it’s staring back.

“Help.” I murmurs with the confidence I am very much not feeling.

“Alright. That’s… okay.” I sigh and nod to the duenna of the Academy. “That’s probably the smart thing to do.”

And… fuck a hot meal sounds nice after so many days eating cold trail rations.