“Has anyone ever told you that you talk too damn much, Oss?”

Oskar’s heart skipped a beat as Erik’s voice rang clear in his ear, his brother’s single arm still holding him in a tight hug.

Hearing the name that Erik called him for as long as he could remember did more for Oskar than he thought was possible. Oskar couldn’t explain why, but hearing his brother say his name, as raspy as it was, was like pulling a cork out of a bucket of emotions.

It wasn’t fully sadness, happiness, or even relief. It felt more like he’d finally taken that single, tentative final step back, away from crisis mode and onto solid ground. Between feeling safe for the first time in this world and the odd magic that partially restored his brother, along with the guilt Oskar felt for his brother’s condition, hope had taken a foothold.

Hope in the desert.

Words flashed across his vision as his PUB replied.

// I guess the jokes about your brother not talking to you are over. I need new material. //

Buddy, you’ve needed new material.

Oskar finally pulled away from the hug to look his brother over, glad that the odd, icy wind from the cavern behind them had died down. The threadbare clothes he wore to block the dual suns did nothing for the chilly breeze still blowing out of the cave.

Erik was staring at him. His previously missing right eye was glowing and iridescent, even in the light of the suns. The leather strap he’d been using to cover the missing eye was now in his hand.

Holding onto Erik’s shoulder gently, Oskar watched his brother tighten the strap on his Goggles with some effort. Blinking, Erik stared back at him, his blue eye in stark contrast to the green, but Oskar had to admit he looked better. Healthier. The healing magic had put some of the missing weight Erik’s own magic had taken from him.

Erik shook his head slowly, looking down at himself in wonder. Oskar noticed the same magical blue light glowing faintly behind his brother’s teeth when he looked back up to face him again.

“Oh, hey, man.” Oskar finally answered with a straight face.

Erik tried to keep a straight face as well, but broke almost immediately, and Oskar laughed with him. Nearby, the two Kobolds watched them with bemused silence. Fox was smiling at the two of them, her sharp, foxlike teeth stark against the short, dark purple fur that covered both Kobolds.

The Kobolds were smaller than humans, and even though Fox an inch or so shorter than Touwon, she was still the more imposing of the two.

Even smiling… or maybe because she’s smiling… she looks dangerous.

// Yeah, and the little tiger stripes don’t help. //

The faint orange stripes along Fox’s shoulders and neck were barely noticeable in the bright of day, but they were there, in her... undercoat? Oskar thought, deciding it prudent not to ask.

The Goggles did a fantastic job of enhancing detail. Well, at least Oskar’s Goggles were great at enhancing details.

A leather Bracer he wore on his left wrist fed information about Oskar to the Goggles via a small metal disk that sat on his radial pulse. The Personal Unit Bracer, or PUB, was linked to Oskar’s Goggles as a matched set, giving his PUB the advantage of long-term memory and access to memory banks. The Goggles displayed information and relayed data back to the Bracer, which housed the PUB.

Oskar didn’t know the exact details, but it appeared there was an encryption key linked to the Goggles the Bracer was specifically designed to interface with, designated via a three-letter system.

Oskar’s matching set of Gear was a rarity gifted to him on his arrival on this planet. Whoever made his travel to this world possible also gifted Oskar the unbreakable spear he was now using, along with Erik’s shoulder, to remain standing.

If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

And the “whoever made his travel to this world possible” was looking more and more like Bastet. And I’m super glad for the help, don’t get me wrong. It’s the only reason I have you, PUBs. But I still almost died repeatedly.

// You’re lucky to have me. //

Yeah, yeah. And Penny, Fox, Touwon, and eventually, Erik, too. You guys are the only reasons I made it this far. My little Collective; my family.

Penny, Oskar’s Pangolor Druid companion, was sitting in the sand below the two brothers. The small copper scales that covered her from head to toe shimmered in the light, her thick tail wagged, sweeping sand from side to side. She was looking up at Erik and Oskar, watching them with her intelligent eyes.

Does she look bigger?

He didn’t dwell on the question, though, impatient to talk to Erik now that he’d gotten a good look at him.

“How do you feel, man?” Oskar asked his brother, not sure what to say.

Erik shrugged.

A moment later, as an afterthought, Erik said, “Better.”

Erik was unused to talking, having just been healed; he was already quiet by nature, though.

Freaking Valla. I’m gonna kill her.

Even her name couldn’t drown out Oskar’s joy completely, though. With Erik back, Oskar felt like they could make it through anything.

The truth was they needed rest, though, and badly, having been on the run for a week now from Valla’s minions. Forced to move slowly because of Erik’s weakness, they were under constant attack, chased and harried without rest to the mouth of the cavern they were about to enter.

With the sting of Erik's escape, Valla’s swift response was to send waves of Hyenamen Gliders and their poisoned spears, and a monstrous shadow-beast that had almost spelled the end of Oskar.

And now we’re at a magic cave about to meet Bastet. And thank her for the protection.

Unfortunately, the magic that Oskar had pushed into his brother could only do so much, clashing with a dark magic in his stump that prevented Erik’s arm from healing as well.

And of course, my right foot is still missing. But I don’t think it would have healed my foot, anyway. Before I pushed the magic into Erik, I felt the magic working to heal all my aches and pains, but it didn’t even try to do anything about the foot.

So, are the eye and tongue pure magic now?

// I still don’t know what the hell is going on, so don’t ask me, champ. It’s your magic, so if you don’t know, I don’t know. The god cat in the cave has got me on lockdown. //

Well, Bastet just saved us from like sixty Hyenamen and a shadow monster, so she gets a pass for now.

He was a mess of emotions, glad Erik could talk and see out of the new blue magic eye he had, but Oskar wished he could have given his brother his arm back and couldn’t shake the small pang of disappointment.

He set his jaw against the strange mix of emotions swirling in his head. The calico growled deep in its throat, breaking Oskar out of his thoughts. He turned, still holding onto Erik’s shoulder, to look in the cave.

From deep inside, the breeze carried with it scents that felt more like memories than smells. The cave-mouth itself was alight with a blue glow that seemed to intensify and dim like the inhale and exhale of breath from the strange, crystal looking cavern. At its brightest, Erik turned his head and squinted. His drastically inferior Goggles, or perhaps his new eye, was more sensitive to the light than Oskar’s own.

Or maybe those Goggles are even worse than I thought. We've got to find something better for him. But first, we have an appointment.

“So, uh… you guys wanna go meet a kitty?”

The calico did not look at all amused, and neither did Penny. The calico watched them, huffing and looking into the cave impatiently now that she'd cleaned all the Hyenamen blood from her fur.

Penny decided there was no way she was going into the cave and would not entertain any other option. She didn’t stop Oskar, but pretended to lounge happily in the sun near some of the cats, but Oskar could feel her trepidation.

She’s only ever known open air and freedom. I’m pretty used to it myself by now. I’m not exactly excited about this, but I think we need to get moving. The calico looks like she’s about ready to drag us into the cave herself.

Touwon stepped up and situated himself under Oskar’s other arm. Once they were as comfortable as they were likely to get, the cat bowed perceptibly and then stood and walked into the cave, its bob tail wagging behind it. The group trailed behind a little awkwardly, with Oskar relying on Touwon and Erik for support.

A few cats were lounging in the entrance, but they all stood and walked as the big calico passed.

The blue glow pulsed with a slow rhythm that emanated from deep within the cave, its light pausing at the cavern’s mouth before receding back into the darkness. The cool breeze remained; hints of memories Oskar wasn’t sure were entirely real pulled at his focus. He felt at peace, but it was peace in the presence of power.

// Am I supposed to pretend that wasn’t a little melodramatic? //

Am I not allowed to occasionally wax poetic?

// How about you wax off? //

You want me to do what?!

// Wax! I said wax, you child! //

Oskar grinned, but it faded as the anticipation took over and they began their slow trek into the cave.