“You’re kidding, near the Monolith Kingdom?” Beak asked.

“Landi’s place, yeah,” Renn said.

Miss Beak hummed, which vibrated the pool of water she was sitting in.

“After that… well…” Renn hesitated, and splashed as she turned to look at me. She was looking for permission to say it aloud.

“Landi has taken another heart. We’ll see if she survives it or not,” I said.

Miss Beak turned her massive head, as to point one of her massive eyes my way. “You’ve grown softer Vim,” she said.

“I knew it!” Renn said loudly.

Miss Beak chuckled, sending more ripples out into the fresh water oasis lake.

Unlike the many thousands of other flamingos that were surrounding this little oasis island, she wasn’t standing on one leg. She was lowered down, half-submerged in the only source of fresh water for miles. Sitting down.

Although massive in size, I knew the reason Miss Beak sat instead of standing like the others of her kind wasn’t because of her size. Her legs were plenty strong enough to support her. She was a Monarch, after all. But rather it was because she enjoyed the feeling of being submerged in cool water. She just liked the feel of it.

Plus it let her talk more easily with us tiny creatures that were stuck closer to the ground.

“She’s not absorbed it yet, but she plans to do it in the next year or two. I guess she wants to prepare herself for it. It had hurt her last time,” Renn then said, expanding on updating Miss Beak.

It was… interesting to listen to Renn give Miss Beak her version of our journey together. Like always, upon seeing her, I told Miss Beak of all I’d done and seen. Before we got to the rest of our conversations, she always wanted to hear of all I’d seen and done.

Renn had taken up the mantle of story teller without hesitation, and honestly was doing a mighty fine job.

I particularly liked how she walked around and danced in the water as she spoke. She was an animated speaker when she was into it.

The crystal clear pool Renn and Miss Beak were in was an oddity. The little island that it rested on was made of golden sand. Something that belonged on a temperate beach and not in the middle of the salt-flats. But as out of place as it was, it was still perfect for Miss Beak’s home.

This little island was big enough to house her massive body, but small enough to not be visible from a far distance. Even with the thousands of pink birds standing all around it.

“What reason does Landi need the hearts, Renn?” Miss Beak asked.

“She wants to give birth to a child. Seems she tried for many years, and never could, so she resorted to the hearts. Since absorbing the one, she can now get pregnant but they’re all stillborn. She hopes a second will keep them alive,” Renn explained.

“Hm…” Miss Beak hummed her noise, and I noticed the way Renn’s tail bobbed up and down along the waves of ripples because of it.

She, like Miss Beak, was half submerged. And unlike Miss Beak who was covered in beautiful pink feathers… Renn was naked. For some reason it was actually bothering me, though it made no sense.

Renn’s been naked in front of me before. Plus… it made sense. Why get her clothes and leathers wet? It’d just be annoying to dry them.

Yet it still bothered me.

I was the only one not sitting in the pool of water. I was not far from them, on the golden sand. Sitting on a massive log, from a tree that obviously had come from elsewhere. The trees growing on this island were thinner, with heavier leaves. More akin to palm trees. This log was likely from a forest from the north. Either Miss Beak had gone and got it, for some reason, or while flying around she had seen it floating in the salt-flats and had brought it back.

Not far from me were our bags. I was keeping an eye on them since the smaller flamingos kept wanting to come over and peck at them.

Unlike the pool of water, that they knew better than to go near, they didn’t have any fear walking along the edge of the beach. Miss Beak didn’t like them going into her water, but didn’t seem to care if they walked along the outer perimeter of her beaches.

“Do you think it’ll work?” Renn asked Miss Beak.

“No. But… I hope it does, all the same,” Miss Beak answered.

Renn’s ears drooped a little, but not too harshly. “Vim thinks she’ll die too,” she said.

“Vim’s a realist, even if he pretends to not be. A sad trait he’s picked up over his harsh life,” Miss Beak said.

I huffed as Renn smiled up at the massive pink bird. Miss Beak had curled her long neck, the way these wading birds liked to do, and was staring down at her new friend with a very visible smile. It was a little interesting that even though she had a beak, one could still see emotions upon it.

I usually couldn’t see such a smile. Not because she’d not smile at me when I visited alone, but because I was usually the one standing in front of her. The angle didn’t let one see such a thing, thanks to her beak.

The two had been talking for quite a while. Miss Beak had wanted to hear Renn’s story and Renn… being who she was, had been more than willing to share it. Going so far as to even tell Miss Beak things she’d not told anyone else, as far as I was aware. Even I’d learned a few things about her, like how her family had been abusive because she hadn’t had enough fur for their liking. I hadn’t really liked how happily she had spoke of her siblings, and how they had beaten her.

“Why did Vim kill your parents, Beak?” Renn asked, seemingly content enough with talking about Landi and the Monarch.

“They were cruel. They fed on humans as you and I would fish,” Miss Beak said.

Renn’s ears fluttered and she tilted her head up at the mighty bird. “Was there no reasoning with them?” she asked.

“No. Just as your family had lacked the necessary emotional connection with those outside their races, so too did my parents suffer from a sense of superiority. To them, Vim and my asking to stave their hunger was the same as asking them not to breathe. It made no sense to them. It was beyond them,” Miss Beak explained.

“How come such things cannot be taught? I once… in the beginning, also had not realized that humans… that people, even our kind, could be different. Why was I able to realize such a thing, but not them?” Renn asked.

Waiting patiently, I studied Renn as I awaited Miss Beak’s answer.

“It’s very good to hear that Vim has found a suitable companion. There is no real reason, Renn. Just as you were able to realize, and comprehend another creature’s sorrow and suffering, they had simply been unable. Just as easily as you figured it out, they as easily cannot. You might find your children, even if raised with love and care, succumb to the same heartless outlook on life. The cruelty of our ancestors is not something only they can claim. Many today, born as we speak, are just as cruel. Just as evil. It’s not something one can reason with, it’s simply a fact of life,” Miss Beak said.

Renn shifted in the water, her tail swaying on its surface. Or rather, right below it. It was interesting it floated, but not so much that it breached the surface. “So it’s just a matter of a person’s self. Each person can be different,” Renn said.

Miss Beak nodded. “One could argue our ancestors were unable to find reasoning, being… what and who they were… but then one has to ignore the fact that those today suffer the same issues. Even someone raised in a loving home, in a peaceful society, without strife or grief… can still become someone without the ability to relate to the suffering of those around them. They lack empathy. Personally I’d say the reason doesn’t matter. Whether they are cruel out of choice or because of an outside factor… say because of pain, suffering, or mental disability, their reason doesn’t stop the cruelty. Or justify it. Whether a person realizes they’re being cruel doesn’t matter to the one who has to suffer at their hands. Does a wound hurt more or less if given to you by something with kindness, or without? One must realize that eventually a line must be drawn,” Miss Beak said.

“Are you Vim’s mother?” Renn then asked.

Miss Beak opened her mighty beak, and then laughed. Her laugh was loud, louder than her voice. Renn actually flinched down a little, her ears flattening on her head. Likely because the loudness of the laugh had hurt.

Several hundred flamingos nearby startled, flying into the air. They escaped, running away, likely in fear. They must have thought Miss Beak’s laugh a sign of impending doom.

Not a surprise, since they were what she fed on half the time.

After laughing for a moment, Miss Beak shifted and lowered her head. Two massive wings shuffled as she giggled, making the lake rough with waves. “How lovely! I adore you, little Renn. No. I am not his mother, good thing too! If I had been his mother I’d have tossed his egg the moment I could! No… But I thank you for thinking so,” Miss Beak chuckled as she answered.

Renn smiled up at her. “You lay eggs?” Renn asked.

Miss Beak laughed again, this time unfurling her wings a little more than last time. Renn got soaked as the little lake became violent, thanks to Miss Beak’s movements. She had been mostly dry up above her stomach, but was now wet to her chin.

Renn didn’t seem bothered at all, but it was obvious why. Miss Beak hadn’t done so on purpose. She was simply that big, that even the smallest movement caused such chaos.

“I do! Mighty big ones too. Though… I’ve not laid one in many a years. Which is too bad, I’d have enjoyed watching you cook one,” Miss Beak said.

“Cook…” Renn sounded very bothered by Miss Beak’s sense of humor.

“That’s my fault Renn. Flamingo’s taste real good. Especially their tongues,” I said. It was a running joke between her and me.

Renn spun a little to face me, and I wished she hadn’t. I looked away from her a little, as to not stare at her. I focused on her tail instead of her body.

Jeez I was becoming very conscious of her.

“You’d eat them…?” she asked me with a voice of pure disappointment. Out of the corner of my eye I could see the look of disbelief.

Great.

Miss Beak chuckled as she lowered her beak, and tapped the water’s surface not far from Renn. Her way of getting someone’s attention. “Little Renn, do not fret. Even I eat my own kind. We are tasty. And Vim has not actually eaten any of my eggs… although I’ve offered many a time,” Miss Beak said.

Renn stared up at Miss Beak, and then turned to look back at me. I nodded quickly, to prove she was telling the truth.

“Why would you offer such a thing to him?” Renn asked her.

“Well why not? I’ve no mate, so the eggs will never form. If he doesn’t eat them, another creature will,” Miss Beak reasoned with Renn.

“Well… I mean… well…” Renn shuffled, and her long hair started to flow along the water’s surface thanks to her movement. Jeez it really was getting long.

Miss Beak made a happy humming noise and turned to look at me. Just a tiny tilt of the head, to turn her eye far enough. “She’s adorable,” she said.

“She is. Painfully so.”

Renn huffed at me and stepped farther out into the water. “Can I touch your feathers?” she asked.

“Of course. In front of my right wing are the softest ones, I’m proud of those ones,” Miss Beak turned her beak, to point where she was speaking of.

Renn giggled as she waded out farther into the water, to reach her.

Although a small lake, it wasn’t that deep. The very center, not far from where Miss Beak was sitting, was shallow enough Renn could walk to it. However out there she’d probably be up to her head… or maybe even below it. Renn was actually not as tall as I thought, for some reason. She looked tiny as she stepped up next to Miss Beak and reached out to touch her.

As Renn sent her hands into Miss Beak’s feathers, and let out a tiny happy shout as she realized her arms were sinking all the way into them, I was looked at by the giant bird.

Miss Beak held my gaze, and I wondered if maybe I’d done a disservice to her all these years.

She seemed very happy. She sounded pleased. Miss Beak always enjoyed our conversations, and my visits, but… it was clear she was very happy that I had brought a guest.

It made me realize that even though Miss Beak hated everyone else, and didn’t ever want to go see or meet them… I should have been a little more forceful. I should have brought others anyway, even if she complained a little.

She must have been lonely all these years. Surrounded by nothing but the endless sea of salt, and the tiny little birds unable to do much more than chirp at her.

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

I should have brought others here. To meet her. But… how many would have been like Renn? Able and willing to talk so openly, and act so calmly? To not run or cower? To not hesitate to befriend her?

Celine maybe. But other than her…

“You’re so soft!” Renn said happily as she pulled herself away from the feathers, and with great effort. She had nearly sunken completely into them.

“I have loose feathers around here somewhere. But I’m not sure how you’d carry them, since Vim would likely complain,” Miss Beak said.

“I can handle his complaining!” Renn said forcefully.

I sighed at the thought of carrying one those feathers. They were bigger than us. The weight would not be an issue, at all, but…

“I’m sure you can. Tell me… How old are you Renn?” Miss Beak then asked.

“Hm?” Renn waded back towards the beach. So that she’d not be as submerged. “I think I’m about two hundred years old. Though I don’t know how far off I am, honestly,” Renn said.

“I see. Old enough, yet young enough. A perfect age,” Miss Beak said.

Renn beamed up at her, accepting the complement without really realizing what Miss Beak actually meant.

“She’s teasing me, Renn,” I let her know.

“I know Vim. And it’s lovely,” Renn said without looking at me.

Ah. So she had realized. Interesting.

Miss Beak chuckled, which sent another wave along the water’s surface. It splashed against Renn and her tail, making it wrap around her. I tried not to stare too much at the way it coiled around her ass and waist.

“How old are you, Beak?” Renn asked.

“I don’t know. Vim thinks I’m well over a millennia,” Miss Beak said.

Renn tilted her head, and turned to me.

“A thousand years. And yes, she is. I’ve known her that long, and she had nearly been fully grown when I met her,” I said.

Renn’s eyes widened, and then hurriedly returned to the giant bird. “You’ve known him that long?” she asked.

Miss Beak nodded.

“And haven’t wanted to drop him from the sky? You’ve the patience of a saint!” Renn said happily.

I smiled as Miss Beak laughed, fluttering her wings. “Oh I’ve done worse than that!” she said happily.

“Oh!?” Renn grew excited as Miss Beak quickly went to tell her about how she had tried to drown me. She had kept me submerged under the salt-flats for days… all because I had accidentally bled in her little lake.

Renn found it hilarious, at least. “He just let you do it?” she asked.

“Hm. I was so furious that if he had tried to escape or stop me, I’d likely have gotten very hurt. So in his gentle kindness, he had simply let me attempt to kill him until my anger subsided. It had only taken a few days,” Miss Beak said.

My companion giggled something fierce, splashing around with her arms and tail as if to mimic Miss Beak when she laughed.

Hopefully she’d not get any wise ideas…

“Wait…!” Renn then realized something.

Miss Beak and I waited, then tilted our heads at her as she looked back and forth at us.

“What is it?” Miss Beak asked after a moment.

“Does… does that mean you knew each other before the Society? I thought the Society wasn’t that old,” Renn realized.

“Ah. Yes. I’d known Vim before then. I even knew him before he ran away,” Miss Beak said.

Renn found that amazing, but hesitated. “Ran away…?” she asked.

Miss Beak tilted her beak at her, and then glanced at me. “You’ve not told her?” she asked.

“Unlike the two of you, I’m not fond of telling my life story every time I meet someone,” I said stiffly.

Miss Beak sighed, but Renn laughed. “It’s okay. I’m slowly getting it all out of him. He even told me he had parents not too long ago!” Renn said, proudly.

Miss Beak studied her, and then lowered her massive head. The tip of her beak went into the water, and she hushly said, “Renn, dear, everyone has parents.”

“Well… Vim’s so weird I’d not be surprised if he had told me he hadn’t had any. Though he hasn’t told me their names yet, but I have a plan to get them later,” Renn said, as if I wasn’t here listening to their conversation.

“Hm…” Miss Beak raised her head, and thus her beak out of the water, and nodded lightly. “You have a long and difficult journey ahead, but I believe you capable,” she then said.

Renn beamed a confident smile up at her as she nodded.

“Notice she didn’t ask you for help?” I said.

“I did. Her curiosity is pure and lovely. You could learn from her,” Miss Beak said.

“I was curious once,” I defended myself.

“Probably over something silly, I bet,” Renn complained.

“He can be curious, Renn. For instance he’s completely enthralled by your body right now. It’s been very amusing to watch him stare at you while also trying to not do so. He’s having a harder time not staring than he would while fighting a Monarch,” Miss Beak said.

I sat up, and wanted to say something but couldn’t as Renn turned to look at me.

She studied me for a moment, with a look without a hint of emotion… and I waited.

Then she smiled at me. “He does stare sometimes,” she then said as she turned her attention back to the bird.

I sighed in relief, yet at the same time… felt a little more worried.

Miss Beak laughed, and shut her beak a little sharply. Making a loud noise as she did. “A cat indeed! A very proud bloodline. Though… hm… I suppose you should be proud. I’ve never been one to know if you humanoid types are pretty or not, but you seem like one that would be,” Miss Beak said.

“Really? I find you utterly beautiful. Is it because we’re small that you can’t tell?” Renn asked, seeing her statement as more of a serious one than teasing.

Miss Beak paused a moment, and I knew it was because she had not expected Renn’s response. Then she glanced at me.

“The fact you two are so similar is a little disturbing,” she said to me.

I scoffed as I stood up. “Difference is she actually deserves such teasing. She is beautiful. Sometimes I need to shoo idiotic men away from her, even though she never notices,” I said as I went to our bags.

It was about time I started preparing dinner for Renn. And thanks to Miss Beak’s earlier joke, I knew exactly what to prepare.

Plus I was now in the mood for flamingo tongue.

“Oh my. Look Vim, she’s now as pink as me,” Miss Beak said, teasing Renn who was blushing.

I glanced over at her, and smirked. So her face wasn’t the only thing that got redder when blood rushed through her.

“Just for that I think I will ask about you Vim. It’s your fault, you deserve it…” Renn then turned to Miss Beak, who waited patiently for Renn to continue. “Was Vim young when you met him?” she asked.

“No. Or well… maybe. He looked the same as he does now, if that’s what you mean,” Miss Beak said.

“Oh… really?”

Miss Beak nodded as I pulled over one of the bags. I’ll need to get one of the larger knives, since the only things here I could use for firewood were the trees. I’ll need to ask Miss Beak if I can chop up some of the log I’d been sitting on or just fell one of the others…

“Although not young appearance wise… I do think he was a little youthful in the beginning. He and I used to have many conversations that were the foundation of his current thoughts and beliefs. Though regretfully I’ve not steered his morals as well as I’d have liked. A failure on my part,” Miss Beak said.

I huffed at her.

“I’d love to hear all about them! Maybe Vim will be nice enough to let us stay for awhile,” Renn said, and I noted the way she had spoken. She had looked at me, as she did, as to imply a point.

She’d been doing that lately. Saying something, with the intent to get me to realize something. Usually related to something she wanted.

She wanted to stay here? For a while?

Sure. Why not. Out of all the members, Miss Beak was one of the few… or well…

I stopped searching for the knife I wanted as I realized that Miss Beak might be one of the last ones I’d actually considered a friend. A real one. One that was more than just a friend, really…

I saw her almost like an equal. I valued her input. Her wisdom. Her sense of humor. I considered Tosh, and those like him, friends… but I’d never ask him personal questions. Nor would I ever reveal my more…

“Regretfully… my friend’s lovely mate, I’ll not get to enjoy such a wonderful thing with you. As lovely as it sounds, and as much as it breaks my heart and much to my regret,” Miss Beak said softly to Renn.

I paused, and frowned. More disturbed over Miss Beak’s refusal than her teasing. Was she not enjoying Renn’s company? I had been so sure that…

“Is something wrong?” Renn asked softly.

My hand lingered above the open bag. Afraid to move.

“Only the inevitable. I’m sorry Renn, but I must go just as we say hello,” Miss Beak said.

My heart thumped, as I heard something weird. Something in her voice.

Something in the way she had spoken. Something softer than usual. Something I’d not heard since I had burned her parents. Not since she had swallowed their hearts and…

“You must go…?” Renn whispered worriedly.

“But… if maybe Vim will allow… I’d really appreciate a favor. From the both of you,” Miss Beak said.

“Anything,” Renn said.

My eyes shivered… afraid to turn and look at them. Afraid to admit what my heart already knew. What my heart had heard in her voice.

“I’d like to see the sea. The real one. Before I go.”

My hand shot out, grabbing the flap of the bag. Squeezing the bag, I gulped and realized what was happening. I stood, lifting the bag and making some stuff fall out accidentally.

No…!

“Wait… wait!” I shouted as I dropped the bag, and stepped forward towards the water.

Miss Beak turned, and blinked yet said nothing.

My feet hesitated as I slid down the small incline, stepping into the water. I had almost tripped. “You can’t die!” I said as I confronted her.

Renn’s ears went still as she turned to face me, but I ignored her and her terrified expression. Instead I focused on the Monarch who had just declared something so ridiculous.

“You can’t die,” I whispered at the quiet bird. Please tell me I had misheard…

“Oh my mighty Vim… I do believe that’s the first time you’ve ever displayed such sorrow for me,” Miss Beak said.

My tense body relaxed, but not for a good reason. I suddenly felt exhausted.

She hadn’t been kidding. I hadn’t misheard. I hadn’t misunderstood…

Biting back a retort that would have likely ruined this already terrible moment… I closed my eyes and shook my head. “Beak… if you go…” I started.

“I’m going Vim, and even your mighty self will not be able to stop me. Not this time,” Miss Beak said.

She spoke gently. A soft voice not fitting her mighty size.

Damn.

Opening my eyes, I ignored Renn’s distraught gaze. She was crying already.

“I rely on your wisdom, Beak,” I said.

“You do. And it will always humble me that you would find my simple self so important. But, Vim… per usual, even though mighty and wise beyond means… you fail to notice the obvious,” Miss Beak said.

The obvious…?

I looked away from her huge eyes… and glanced at her beak. I found nothing odd about it. Maybe a few more scratches than before, but nothing glaringly obvious. I quickly searched around her body, her wings, her feathers… the spot Renn had been touching her, where small patches of feathers were ruffled.

Nothing looked strange. Nothing that told me what was wrong.

Had I missed something…? Her heart felt fine. It was pulsing. Humming. I didn’t smell blood. I didn’t smell death. And she’s been talking with Renn and me this whole time, and I’d not heard or noticed anything odd or…

Miss Beak then chuckled, and tilted her head. Bringing her beak over towards Renn. “Look, Vim,” she whispered.

Renn started at the obvious gesture. She looked from me to Beak, her face a mess as she tried to understand what she meant. “Huh…?” Renn’s ears fluttered in worry.

“Beak…” I whispered harshly.

“Fate is taking me from you. Yet behold… a perfect replacement,” Miss Beak then said.

Renn tilted her head up at the mighty bird, and it was painful to see the understanding on her face. Her expression had softened. As if Miss Beak’s words had healed her heartbreak already.

“She’s not a Monarch, Beak. She can’t eat hearts,” I argued.

Beak chuckled. “She needs eat only one.”

Only… one?

It took me far longer than it should have to understand what she meant… and once I did, I almost spat at her.

Stepping forward, I splashed into the fresh water lake. “Beak!” I shouted.

It was true. I didn’t need to hear the wisdom of my old friend to realize the truth. I was falling for her. Maybe even had fallen completely already… but this was not the time for teasing!

“I wish to see the sea, Vim. Before I die,” Miss Beak said to me, ignoring my despair.

Taking a small breath… I resisted the urge to argue. To debate her. As I’d done with her for centuries. To debate and argue over the simplest of things. Over morals. Beliefs. Science. History. The Society. The humans.

What I’d done.

What I hadn’t.

Everything.

“Okay…” I whispered, giving up without a fight.

Miss Beak’s eyes softened as she blinked at me. “Mhm… will you come with me?” she asked us.

“Of course,” Renn said before I could.

“The sea is weeks away,” I whispered. I tried to plan the closest path for us. My mind was fuzzy, but like always… even when troubled and full of despair I could think. I could reason. I quickly planned a route. One that led around a monolith to our south. “We can follow the salt, then that river full of crocodiles and…” I said as I blinked the thoughts out.

“I don’t have that much time. I have hours,” she said.

I shook my head. “I’ll not be able to get us there that soon, Beak,” I said. Hours…? Really?

“I’ll carry the two of you,” she said, simplifying it.

Carry… while she flew…? I hesitated as I shifted in the wet sand. I’d be fine… but would Renn? Up there? While flying so fast?

Glancing at Renn, who was staring at me with huge and worried eyes… I once again noticed her naked form.

She really didn’t have any fur anywhere. Not enough. Not for that cold up there. Not as fast as Beak would fly. At that height, at that speed, even here in the desert ice would form.

Would Renn be okay?

“Please Vim. I can feel the tug of sleep even now. Do me this favor,” Miss Beak then said, likely noticing my worry.

Her statement made me stumble… but it was the sound of her voice that really made me pause.

Had… had that been a crack? Had Miss Beak’s voice just cracked and rasped? As if unable to breathe…?

A long… heavy moment passed as I stared into the glowing eyes. The huge orbs. That I’ve stared at countless times over the last thousand years. That I’ve relied on, to be steady. To be able to provide me with sound and astute wisdom. An indifferent, yet understanding perspective I couldn’t find elsewhere.

Yet within those eyes… right now I didn’t see my familiar friend. I didn’t see the calm mind, almost as old as my own.

I instead saw a mind in pain. A mind straining.

A mind failing its body.

My friend’s eyes looked cloudy. And dull.

Not the eyes of a Monarch at all.

“Vim…!” Renn shouted and not as to argue in Miss Beak’s favor. She instead had shouted in concern. In worry… and out of the corner of my eye I saw it.

Miss Beak had started to tremble. She had started to shake. As if in a tremor.

Unable to ignore it… unable to deny it…

Giving in…

I nodded.

“Get dressed Renn,” I said… as I turned to get the bags. I’ll need to wrap her up. It was a good thing she had picked up some blankets recently. I’ll even hold her, and try to keep her covered in as much of Miss Beak's feathers as possible.

“But…!” Renn cried out, but immediately splashed towards me. To our bags.

It was time to say goodbye to my friend.

For the last time.

Again.