"So how did you manage to get help from our local lord?" I asked Nin as my arm dangled down from the branch I rested on. Keeping my half-shut gaze in his direction but not really focusing on him.
"You'd need to ask Einervaene about that. She was the one who did all the talking." he admits with a shrug of his shoulders. A stick was in one of his hands as well and he frequently swung it. And, with my acute sense of hearing, I could hear it distort the air. A sudden swoosh-like noise filled them each time he did it.
At least, until the stick broke because it hit the ground. He would moan in displeasure but was quick to find another one. And he would start the process all over again. I think my arm sometimes moved in rhythm with it as well.
"I guess it doesn't matter, then. I'm mostly surprised you came back with an official letter." I said as I remembered when those two came back. It wasn't long after Mom had vanished but I was too worried at the time to care.
"If it means anything, we weren't there that long so they might have already have had someone on the way." he tells me as he looks up after trying to swat my hand. But, when the stick got too close, I grabbed it. Gripping it tightly as he tried to pull it out of my hands. Ironically, however, he would have to not be trying for me to keep my grip on it.
"You were gone for pretty much the whole day. How is that short?" I asked as a brow sort of raised itself.
"I don't know. I always heard it took a while with politicians and similar." he says after he relinquishes his stick to me. And, with it now under my control, I tried to hit him. But he grabbed a new stick once again and started duelling with me. Despite my awkward grip as well, I was intent on winning this fight.
"I think they'd give you special attention if two powerful witches just suddenly crashed into their tea garden as a lightning bolt." I commented in the moments prior to him winning the duel.
"It was actually by a fountain garden, I'll have you know." he informs me before he shivers.
"Einervaene get caught up in the water?" I asked as a small grin appeared. I even pushed myself up a little so he could see it more clearly.
"No, she freaked out and shoved me in the direction of one of the statues. So now I have a debt to some lord I don't even know the name of." he explained before he started to laugh out his confusion.
"So... When the help does arrive, will you lot be going?" I asked seriously.
"If they bring a bill, yes." he laughed out before he caught onto my tone. And the sounds of his amusement just vanished in an instant.
"Are you sure you can't stay a little while?" I asked him as I moved my body closer to the branch once more.
"At some point, we will need to get going. I might hate nearly everyone there, but, I would like to learn how all this works." he tells me as his body begins to surround itself with a greater presence of magic.
"But, still... Can't you just... Stay? We stole an airship and have been gone for months now!" I argued as I began to get down from the tree. And I froze up slightly when he helped me down. I don't know why, really, it was just a brief place to put my feet.
"Larishazza's sister is likely worried sick and Einervaene clearly has a passion for it. I get that you want to be with your sister and mother, but, you can always come back with us." he argues as his masked gaze looks me right in the eye. In response, my ears flattened and my tail went still. I straightened out my mouth and curled up my fists.
"You know I can't just leave them..." I say quietly as I remind him of why I wanted to stay here. I was finally home, my family had nearly all made it. I had accomplished the goal I have had in my mind since we first met. It was over, there was no need for me to go. Besides, our arrival here has made it clear it is not safe here.
I needed to be here to make sure my home continued to stay safe. If the help that was on the way was only a limited thing, I would need to protect everyone. I may have not been as strong as Nin, as skilled as Larishazza or as dangerous as Einervaene. But, I had my own magic, I had my own fighting spell.
I could protect them if I needed to... And they would need me to. The slavers made it clear ours was not to be a peaceful village. The osibindah were simply a reminder of that fact, to make sure we didn't turn stupid.
"Vadei, look, your village has been restored. We've built new buildings, started making the means to fight back if it happens again. New people now live here! They'll be fine." he reassures me with.
"No..." I began to say before I just went quiet. I wasn't sure what to say. I suppose there wasn't really anything to say...
Nin then sighs before he puts a hand on my head, "Just make sure it's your decision. Don't do it just because you feel compelled to."
"Of course, it's my decision..." I mumbled as his hand went side-to-side on my scalp. It would mess up my hair and bounce between my ears. At least, until I moved his hand away from my head.
"Anyway, then. Should we go find the others? I have forgotten why we're here to begin with." he says which makes me smile slightly.
"You only came here to speak to me." I remind him before my smile went away. Then, I sighed before I found myself leaning on him. And, I even wanted to bring my tail up so it could be between us.
"Oh, alright. In which case, I don't want to speak to you anymore." he said with growing chuckles. And, when he finished that sentence, I smacked both my hands on him. Frowning at him as a groan was swirled about my mouth. All he had to say for it was further chuckles and snickering.
"I suppose we should get out of the forest anyway, they did say that as the Orbital-Halo begins to set, that is when Simar and the others would be ready..." I say as the joy his own brought to me suddenly vanished. The moment that had been on my mind so much was now here. Soon, Dad would be below my feet, and I would never see him again. So, I guess, I also wanted to use this opportunity to see him again.
Just so it could be with one thing in my mind. That thing being I knew that he was not going anywhere for the time being. I don't know why I wanted to have a moment like that. But, I had a feeling I did know, I just had no idea how to say or think it.
"You want a lift or do are you fine trekking along the dirt?" Nin asked me as he brought himself up onto a fallen tree in one big step.
"Uh, I... Okay." I began to say before quickly answering him. I was at first going to just walk, but, now might be one of the last chances I had to get a ride. Nin's size made it a comfortable thing as my weight was more evenly spread. I also just liked it.
It was a moment where I could just pretend I was a little pup again. Something to ease my worries as we travelled. Not that it would last for long, but, I appreciated it. It also let me enjoy the softness of my tail without causing me issues!
This short journey, however, would be a lot better if he took a flatter route. All the bumping about was making it hard to just lose myself in the softness of my fur. His body was also hard and stiff mostly, so lots of movement was very uncomfortable. However, due to the shortness of the trip, I did not have time to voice any complaints.
"Your fee is-" he began to say before I pushed at his mask on the way down.
"Nothing." I finished for him before walking towards my home. And, unlike him, I actually used the door our garden had rather than just walking over said wall.
"Afternoon, you two." Mom greeted with a small smile as we got into the house. She was still uncomfortable around Nin, but, whatever he did had put her at ease a little. I only wish I could pry such information out of them. Just so I could try and see where I was going wrong.
But, I guess it was a good thing I could not get it out of them. It did not really matter and I would just be reminding everyone of something I did not want. So I distracted myself by going up to Mom and putting my tail in her face. Smiling at her while her face was blocked before she got it out of her face.
I then sniffed the air, "There's nothing cooking?" I questioned in confusion as I was under the impression we'd eat here. Somewhat awkwardly with Dad included so we could have one final meal.
"Simar and the other priests said they would prepare a feast for the whole village as Dear will be the last one." she explains as a frown forms.
"I thought we were going to..." I began to say, knowing full well that she had not forgotten about it.
"I know, Vadei, I know. I just felt like, he would not want it like that. He'd want to taste the food for starters." Mom explains before she frowns harder at her joke at the end.
"Okay... Is it alright if I still spend some time with him then?" I asked as this now changed what I was going to do. If our little, strange meal had been cancelled, then, I would like to spend more time with him.
"Sure, just try not fight with your sister." Mom says as gives me a small smile.
"Would you mind going away for the moment?" I asked Nin quietly after turning to face him.
"Sure, I'll see what Shocker, Fat Chest and Dancer are up to." he tells me with a wave before he disappears out the front door. And while I found myself watching him on the way out, Mom's cough reminded me of my plans. So, I then quickly rushed off to her room and slowly entered it. Staring long and hard at my sister when I saw her laying next to him.
"Remember that, Dad? That was a very scary moment, but, I had fun that day." she says to him as I occupied the other side of the bed. I even got into a brief fight with my sister over where our tails went. But, we settled on sharing his middle before our heads moved onto his chest.
"Talking about things you've done with him?" I asked her. Something she tried to nod to on him.
"I-I was j-just talking about when we went on that trip into the mountains. W-When we found that skeleton." she explained to me as her body quaked.
"You mean the trip where you came running and crying back to us while we were picking flowers?" I asked back with a smile. I did not know if she'd see it the same way now, but, before, it was a good thing to poke fun at. Mostly because when I saw it I thought it was cool as skeletons are rare. Old ones, anyway.
"N-No I didn't..." she whined as her grip tightened on Dad. And, I laughed, I laughed loudly when I heard her say that. It was nice to know that some of her old self was still there. Even if it changed how she did it.
But, as she continued to moan, I stopped, "You totally did, though." I teased a little more once my laughter ended. And I just smiled at her as she moaned a little more and hid herself a little more too.
"At least I didn't start crying because some mud got on my dress..." she nervously said back to me. She may have been my sister, and she knew it. But, it was unfortunate she reacted as if I was a slave owner. And, to try and remind her that I wasn't, all I did was stroke the back of her hand.
"I did that a lot, so you'll need to be more specific." I tell her as she moves her hand closer.
"I-I'm thinking... I'm thinking about that time I made a sling." she clarified with a notable stutter.
"Oh, that. I was a little more focused on the fact you nearly took my eye out." I replied with false hurt. Making sure to hide my smile as she lunged up.
"I did not!" she said loudly before she shirked away from me. But, I went up and pulled her down on to me.
"Sorry, Dad." I said to my sleeping parent as I played with my sister on top of him. Only for a little bit, however. As, of course, we wouldn't want to wake him...
"V-Vadei..."
"Hm?" I let out as I brought my face a little closer to hers. She may want to hide it, but I would not let her.
"Do you remember when we were walking in the mountains and Dad made that p-picture with rocks."
"The one with the naughty word that made Mom scream?"
Then, my sister laughed, "Yeah, that was fun."
"The twisted ears we got when we repeated the word weren't..." I moaned as I touched my ears. A distinct phantom pain existed and it was bothersome.
"Dad was weird." she then said.
"We all are." I say back to her as I did not really have anything to say on it. Experience has led me to meet a few people one could call weird.
"I-I mean... One moment he was serious, but another he would be taking it so lightly you'd forget he was an adult at all..."
"Adults saying they're all grown up and mature are just looking for cheap pride." I commented with a huff after she finished.
"You must have grown up quite a bit then, being on your own for so l-long." my sister said as she started to stroke my hand.
"I wasn't on my own. I had my friends to keep me safe and annoyed." I started off seriously before finishing with a joke. I wanted to see if I could get more laughs out of my sister. She's been so reclusive since I found her, after all.
"W-Which friend do you like the most?" she then asked me, a question I found rather strange. Because I did not understand if she was asking if I just had a bias or had feelings for one of them? Granted, the latter question only had one potential candidate, really. And the answer was one of uncertainty.
"What do you mean?" I decided to ask so I could get the confusion out of my system. And I prayed she did not mean anything romantic with that question.
But, then she started to tear up, "W-Well, back in... B-Back in the place... T-They liked to talk about what their favourite w-was..."
"Don't ask questions like that, it's not like that out here. A friend is not like what you used to be. Remember that, you aren't one now." I told her in an effort to get the crying to stop. But, with how much she was now hugging Dad, it might have only been him that could have stopped it.
"O-Okay..." she sobbed in a tone that sounded like a child who was disappointed in themself. As if they asked something and only proved themselves wrong.
"Don't worry about it, Conquei. Just, know this, one day, one day you'll have friends like I have. They'll have your back each step of the way and they'll even save your life."
"C-Can I just share your f-friends then? I d-don't like going near people now..." she continued to sob as she curled in on herself. At least, until I leaned over Dad and got in the way of it. I held her and I made sure she was calming down first before speaking.
"No, because they need to be ones you can relate to. A good friend needs to be there with you as you succeed and fail. But, remember this, okay? Just because you get to a rough start does not mean you cannot be friends. Do not think that just because you or they make a mistake that it means you are no longer friends." I explain to her as I draw on my experiences with my friends. From Nin who I once scorned and Vapooliar who I envied. All the way to Einervaene and Larishazza who I have known for so little a time.
They've all helped to keep me safe and I was very thankful for it. So I can only plead and beg the gods and goddesses for a promise of immense importance. And that promise was them at granting my sister someone she could rely on. It didn't have to be a group, it just had to be a good friend for her to have hold her.
I was her sister, yes, I loved her very much, yes, but, I can't always fill in for them. Sometimes, I guess, you just needed the extra bit of unfamiliarity before you could open up about something. I don't recall any moments like that with my friends. But I had a feeling something would come up like that.
After all, I could not really bet on any sense of assuredness with them. What was meant to be a simple escape from a mountain turned into an unpleasant stay with aelenvari. What was meant to be a trip home turned into a frightful adventure. Then again, life always had something to shatter your plans.
I was lying on top of one such change of plans, after all, and I hated it. I really did and I don't think I could describe how much I hated it. But, it was also a reminder of why it was important for Conquei to get that special friend. Mine after all helped me get ready to say goodbye.
"W-Where are you going?" my sister asked disappointedly as she brought herself up. But, I did not leave the room and instead moved closer to the shelves. As that is where I have been keeping my final gift for Dad.
"Just to show you this." I say as I picked up the heavy, magic rich flower. But, I kept it in my hands as I wasn't sure if she could handle the weight. I was not as weak as I once was, but, it still made my hands ache.
"I-Is that why the room smells of booze?" she asked as her nose scrunched up upon sniffing it. I smiled at first but I did agree with her. It had made the room smell like an alcoholic lived here.
"See, Conquei. This flower is meant for Dad when we go to the temple. But, it's also something special. As I could not have gotten it without the help of my friends." I tell her while stroking the strong and sturdy petals. It was almost like touching a thin piece of metal but it was as soft as well, a petal.
"Because there i-isn't enough booze around here?" she asked with a slightly joking tone as she wiped her eyes.
I smiled and huffed a laugh, "No, but yes. The reason I am on about is because I was scared. I was worried... I didn't think my gift was good enough and I was worried about its safety. But, my friends were willing to risk jail just to make it perfect." I explain to her before I settled the flower down on the bed. Cautiously watching as it sank into the quilt and creaked the frame as if a person sat down.
"Y-You're just making me jealous..." she moaned and that annoyed me. Because she was taking the wrong kind of information away from this.
"Don't be," I nearly snapped at her, "...Let it serve as a drive or something. Get a friend who is better than mine. Get two get three!" I cheered as I took her hands into mine.
"I d-don't know..." she mumbles in response.
And I shake my head and smile, "Trust me, Conquei. You'll only be happier as a result."
"So... Will your friends be staying?" she asked me, and I became quiet as a reuslt.
"N-No..." I struggled to admit after saying such things to my little sister. I was trying to encourage her to make some and I had just admitted to leaving mine to stay here.
"I want them to come back then. That way I can show you that mine are better." she says unexpectedly with a small smile. She had even moved away from Dad and was now sat on the end of the bed.
"Keep dreaming." I say as I shove her gently. And, for a brief moment, the old her came back. Because she shoved me back. And I went along with it as I had gotten a lot stronger since we were taken.
"No, I will! I will prove it and you'll be left sobbing!" she laughed before she suddenly became timid.
"And all the best to you then." I coo as I hug her and bring her close. Scratching her head gently as I held her until I let go. Then, I put the flower back so I knew where it was later. It had been there pretty much since we got back, after all.
"D-Do you want to see my gift for D-Dad...?" she then asked me after looking back at his sleeping form.
"Sure, but mine is better."
"N-No..." was all she said with a shake of her head before she disappeared. She then came back a few moments later with what seemed to be a piece of jewllery. It was by no means fine or well-made, but, I can only guess it had a lot of history. In fact, I was willing to assume I was mistaking poorly made for something that was actually old.
"So what's the story behind it?" I asked in confusion as I wasn't quite sure why she would give it to him. So, I could only guess it was something I was not aware of at all.
"Back when we were younger, me and Dad went for a walk on our own while you were recovering from an injury. We found an old building and inside of it was this. We found it together and I thought he would like it." she tells me before she tries to put it on his wrist. Until I stopped her, much to her confusion.
"There will be plenty of time to get him dressed later." I tell her before I cup my hand underneath the ancient piece of jewellery.
"Do you think he will like it?" Conquei asked after we put it on a shelf near my flower.
"I do. It came from one of his best friends after all." I say as I smile at my embarrassed sister.
"I hope he does... I won't be able to get him anymore presents like this..." she says as her ears start to go down.
"He will, Conquei, he definitely will." I say to her to reassure her and get rid of that anxiety.
Then, all of a sudden, Conquei shirked away from me, "S-Someone is c-coming..." she whined nervously. At first, I was confused by such behaviour as Mom was the only other one here. But, a quick sniff of the air made it clear a lot more were now here.
"Hello, you two." a familiar old man greeted after Mom let him into the room. It was Simar, the Priest of Undwote for our village. And, if he was here...
"Is it time, then?" I asked as I turned to Mom. She nodded before then letting out a quiet sigh.
"Your Holiness, I understand if I am being a little..." Mom began to say before Simar started to leave the room.
"Don't worry, I'll give you all the time you three need." he says with a smile before stepping out.
"W-Well... Can you two keep him company while I get my husband dressed?" Mom asked of us before we both stubbornly shook our heads.
"He's our Dad too!" I pointed out as Conquei nodded at my words.
Mom then smiled, "I know, I know..." she lets out quietly before we move to embrace her.