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The smaller chrysalis in hand, Idrus closed his eyes and let out a deep breath. He wanted to shriek, he wanted to cry out in anguish of it, but as he’d managed to find a cave close by, Nala could only sit on the rocks, staring at the river below.

Idrus had to pretend. He convinced himself that if he truly said it didn’t matter, Nala would believe it.

Levelers and Summoners handled grief differently. While he wanted to find something to kill, Nala sat down as if she were ready to die.

It seemed so contrary to the same Nala who had slaughtered seven sloths when she’d thought Idrus wouldn’t recover. And what good had that destruction done anyone? If they’d had all eight now life would be easier. They would have kept going. The babe wouldn’t be gone.

Rather than scream and cry and lament the baby’s passing, Idrus tried to contain his grief. He had to. For Nala’s sake.

If Idrus believed it was all right, Nala would be all right as well.

When he reached Nala, the Summoner didn’t look back to regard him.

“The blasted sloths. All my selfishness. It’s brought this to us. Still my need for gluttony. I should have been satisfied with one sloth. I should have been satisfied with your touch whenever the time suited you. I should have left you to mate in full and produce beautiful fighters the queen would like and nurture.” Nala shook her head as she muttered, “And I should have humbled myself and turned back with you when you suggested it.”

Crouching down beside her, Idrus said, “You speak of nonsense. What’s done is done and we cannot change it. Whatever’s meant to come to pass will come. The day you look upon me and trust in me and yourself and not these foolish Earther thoughts of longing for something beyond your reach, is the day I will truly know happiness. This was meant for you.” He lowered his hands, gesturing to the chrysalis. “The other was too strong and ravenous. I could not leave him with you, but this one...this one has a gentle temperament. Perhaps he is meant to keep you company and help you and your farm when I’m gone.”

Idrus looked down at the river.

It didn’t flow well. Instead, debris and even animal carcasses in some cases bobbed on at an erratic flow.

“Perhaps we can follow the river and...and find...and find him,” Nala muttered.

Letting out a sigh, Idrus shook his head. “No. We will continue to the farm. Sleep in the cave tonight and set off in the morn no matter the weather. But come away from this place, Na’am. There is nothing here for us.”

He waited and when Nala eventually stood, he stood as well.

Idrus was gentle as he put the chrysalis into Nala’s hands.

Left hand around the Summoner’s shoulder, they turned and headed for the cave.

Nala had trouble eating but she did so and curled up to sleep beside the chrysalis.

Idrus looked out at the pouring rain from the mouth of the cave. From here he could see the river and all the muck it dragged on with it. A craning-mare cried out in the night, sinking and rising from the water. The currents weren’t heavy but as her kind did not swim, he could imagine the fear she felt.

He was too bitter to go out and help her.

Luck would have it that a branch caught her by the throat. No doubt she’d wiggle herself free in the morning.

Idrus swallowed down his sorrow and stood. The filthy robe at his left shoulder, he stared down at it.

He dropped it on the floor before curling up behind Nala to rest. In his time of confusion, he took all these signs to mean that he, too, sought gluttony by entreating Nala to remain. The Summoner was happier out in the woods. That was where she was home.

As king with no acceptable heir, he had to allow things to play out as they may.

He pulled Nala to him, and the Summoner turned in his grip, chrysalis and all.

Nala and the queen believed in some sort of punishment for wrong doings. Idrus hadn’t seen that. He’d seen fear lead to more and more nonsense and he’d allowed it to take him to this place. The fear of loss, the fear of having to destroy the babes, the fear of Nala leaving or going mad while he was away. Even the fear of losing the respect of his people. They all propelled him here.

Somehow, he’d sunken into it. Now they’d saved the sloth but to what end?

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When Idrus closed his eyes, his Summoner and his newborn safely tucked by his side, he decided to think like a Leveler. He’d return in the morning, take on new bedmates and breed with the queen once more once the mood suited him. He’d raise his new king and follow what tradition dictated.

When the morning arrived, sunlight came with it. Idrus stared down at the dregs of the river and nodded. The crane-mare hadn’t escaped the night; now it moaned weakly.

“You fought very well, but every fight must end.” Those words were meant for the crane-mare, but deep down he knew they were meant for him as well. He’d fought. He’d fought against nature, against custom, against Nala herself. He’d fought until he’d lost an arm, a newborn, and his senses. And like that wretched crane-mare, caught at the neck, struggling to live when death was so certain, he wondered how long his own struggles would last.

What could he do? Travel with Nala to the farm, leave them there alone? Leave the would-be king there with the Summoner? With no protection, and no help? Or take Nala back.... The Summoner was pensive now, she’d no doubt return at Idrus’s request. But to what? To cowering in the shadows to keep out of sight; to fearing for her neck should the weather change again suddenly? To suffering the queen’s scorn again and again day after day? Or to perhaps lose her way should the day come when Idrus numb this hollow feeling in his chest at the thought of leaving her? Should that day come, the day when another caught Idrus’s eye, what would become of Nala then?

This was a battle. No. This was a war. This was a war that put Levelers and Summoners alike on a very tense line with no fitting end.

Idrus had fought it. He had his casualties. Now his insides felt bruised and battered.

That crane-mare would be best to give up. Lose all life and sink to the bottom.

This Leveler King, fighting against a force he could never understand—this longing for an awful Summoner who had only brought him grief—was no match, either.

Idrus looked back at Nala and the chrysalis. Further back in the cave the sloth still slept, exhausted and filthy. Idrus stood. This was no place for a king. This was no place for him.... And so he resolved to leave.

“Mana...” Nala whispered, as if anticipating the abandonment.

But Idrus didn’t look back; he stared out at the destruction from the rains and jumped from the cave entrance.

Idrus wanted to run from that hill, the wind at his back and the fresh day coming anew. Maybe there was such a thing as good fortune. He’d lost the stronger babe and abandoned the other to a Summoner who was unlikely to know how to care for it.

It was the fastest he’d moved in months. It felt good to leave all that behind. He took to his feet, feeling free. All the complexities of Nala’s foolish struggles didn’t strangle him as he moved. The Summoner could fend alone—should fend alone.

Idrus didn’t make it far before his run lost power. The distance wasn’t great but he felt crippled with a sensation he couldn’t quite describe.

If he left now, he could arrive back at the roost later the next day.

His stride slowed until he walked and then he stopped. When he turned to look back at the slope and the cave beyond it, he did so with reservation.

Maybe he couldn’t go back to the roost. Maybe he was a useless king. Maybe this was for the best—this was where he should be.

“Nala....”

This was Idrus’s moment of weakness but he felt he’d earned it.

Nala would return to her place and Idrus his own. Before he left, however, he decided to take the crane-mare meat with him. It would be bloated but as others were hungry, they would be pleased to have it.

He climbed that hill and climbed down again wondering what would happen when he arrived back home. In this weather the queen couldn’t have gotten far.

Idrus slid down the slope and took the crane-mare by the horns.

“Here now. I’ve got you,” Idrus said.

The beast didn’t respond.

Sighing he patted the black fur and said, “I suppose you did die in the night. I cannot use your meat then.”

The body still pulsed despite outward appearances.

Something moved in the beast belly.

Other than a red wound on one side of it, Idrus couldn’t determine what had killed it or why it stirred.

“Mana,” Nala’s voice came from above the slope. “Is something the matter? You ran off.”

Idrus concluded that he could run even now without affording Nala an excuse. He held his ground, however, a sense of regret for failing in his earlier attempt at leaving robbed him of his ability to look over his shoulder at her.

“Mana, something moves in its gut. Is it with child?” Nala asked, sliding down to meet him.

Body tensed, Idrus kept his gaze low. He offered Nala an answer, at least, because he knew not what else he should do. “You mean it’s ready to lay?”

“No. Crane-mares don’t release eggs before the birth. It hatches within.”

Idrus touched the carcass to find something shifting. Using his claw he cut the underside of the beast and said, “At least we can do with the meat.”

Something big and white spilled out, wiggling all the while.

Nala yelped.

All of creation stopped. The Summoner didn’t move, and Idrus didn’t dare make a sound.

“Is...Is that?” Nala gasped.

Eyes wide, Idrus opened and closed his mouth again and again. “Is it?” he muttered. He laughed out in shock. “Is it!”

At their feet, the once lost new Leveler King twisted and turned, fighting against nature and his own limited body to live.

Idrus smiled. “This is a good omen.” He scooped the fat baby up, checking its feet and hands. All were in place. “It’s returned. It’s all right.”

“It cannot be....” Nala asked, stepping closer.

Turning the baby to show her the short tail, Idrus said, “It is.” He laughed. “If the chrysalis broke underwater, he must have swum up. This beast caught here and he killed her and rested inside. This is an omen; this is a sign,” he said. “This is our king.”

A weak cry broke out from the cave and they traded a glance.

“The other one’s broken from the chrysalis,” Nala observed. “We should check.” She paused before hurrying back. “Where did you go to before I awoke? Is something wrong?”

Idrus stared into those somber gray eyes, willing himself to utter only truth and nothing more.

When he spoke, he did so with conviction and honesty. “I’d lost something. Something troubled me.” The wiggling child in his arms, Idrus let out a held breath and said, “But I have you, and I’ve found what I need. Come...let us see about our other one.”