Chereads / Deepwoken: Vow Of Vengeance / Chapter 45 - A Painful Gift

Chapter 45 - A Painful Gift

One Year Later

 Drallis enters the room with warmasters on each side of him and his little deep owl on his shoulder.

Warden Jericho:

-IT IS REALLY NICE TO SEE YOU AGAIN AFTER ALL THOSE! DID YOU CALL ME TO TELL ME WHAT HAPPENED ON THE COURT?

Drallis Ehr, pointing the open door and telling the warmasters to leave the room:

-What court are you talking about Warden Jericho?

 Jericho realizing that something isn't right by the tone of Drallis' voice:

-Nothing, what did you call me for? Is it about the great war?

Drallis Ehr:

-What great war? Did you lose your mind? I was just going to ask some questions about our last meeting. Because you know uhh, my memory isn't that strong. So I just wanted to make sure of something…

 The little deep owl murmured, over and over again.

-Hoot-hoot, Jericho, hoot-hoot, this, hoot-hoot, isn't, hoot-hoot, him.

 Hearing his little deep owl saying something like this made Drallis Ehr go furious. He took the owl by its neck and threw it to the floor, and without losing time he stomped on it dozens of times until it was totally immobile and dead.

 The owl let out a series of agonized screeches and shrill cries before dying:

 -Screech! Shriek! Kraaaw…

 Seeing this, Warden Jericho understood what was going on. He was frustrated, the realization of losing his brother just reached his mind.

Seeing the owl in that phase reminded him of the past…

Long Long Ago…

Drallis Ehr:

-Aren't deep owls amazing? I just learned that they could live up to thousands of years, and that they are one of their kind because they can also communicate with us humans!

Jericho:

-Yeah they actually are amazing, but at the same time, pretty dangerous. I heard that the closest deep owl nest was somewhere around that mountain and that the deep owl inside hasn't been seen for years. Some say that it is getting ready to lay some of its eggs, but who knows…

Drallis Ehr:

-WHY DON'T WE GO AND CHECK IT OURSELVES? IMAGINE IF WE FIND AN EGG, WOULDN'T IT BE SO COOL!!

Jericho:

-No, Drallis. I heard that they were too protective against their kind and too offensive towards others. It wouldn't be a good idea to go there. 

Drallis' anger visible in his face:

-You always do this, Jericho! You always keep me away from getting what I want! But this time I will not listen to you, I'm tired of the way you act, you always think you know the best, but you're nothing but an arrogant idiot.

 Drallis then quickly started running to the mountain with flash speed.

Jericho:

-HEY WAIT! DON'T GO THERE! *Uhh this idiot will get both of us in trouble again*

 Jericho then started following his brother, but he was far away from reaching out to him.

Jericho shouting from a distance:

-I TOLD YOU TO WAIT DRALLIIIIIIIISS!!!

Drallis:

-I WILL NOT RETURN WITHOUT SEEING THAT OWL!

 As soon as Drallis entered the cave, a chill ran down his spine. The majestic and ominous dark feathers of the mama deep owl was frustratingly gorgeous.

 But what Drallis didn't realize was the fact that mama owl wasn't anywhere close to being joyful and calm. She was in fact as frustrated and humiliated as Drallis himself.

 At the same time, Drallis saw the little purplish egg in the vast branches of the magnificent nest. It was the thing he wanted, the thing he was keen on.

-*If I can just take it and run, everything will be fine…* he thought to himself.

 But the truth was far away from it. As soon as he laid his hands on the egg of the deep owl, it targeted his head with its sharp claws. Drallis was on the verge of death, but by milliseconds, his brother, Jericho came to his help, tanking the attack of the deep owl.

His eye gone and face bleeding, yelled at his little brother:

-I TOLD YOU NOT TO GO THERE DIDN'T I?

 Drallis, ashamed of what he has done, realizes the results of his foolish actions. With tears falling down his eyes:

-I'M SORRY, I'M SORRY, I DIDN'T KNOW IT WOULD LEAD TO THIS, I'M SORRY!

-Take this shield and use it to escape the cave safely, BE QUICK!

 Drallis, taking the shield of his brother, quickly ran away.

Now, alone against the great deep owl, Jericho only had his greataxe with him. He started searching for gaps in its guard while parrying its sharp claw attacks with just the greataxe he has. Each parry was echoing in the dark, a pale spark lighting up the vast paths of the giant cave.

 After minutes of fighting against the deep owl, Jericho was exhausted and drained. He needed to find an opportunity to beat the owl or else he would soon lose all his strength to time.

 Right after he parried another attack of the owl, this time he grabbed the owl by its claw and striked it with the greatest force he could. The deep owl, its claw choppen, screamed with all its strentgh. Its deafening screams echoed in the cave.

 The crying owl then left the cave and winged through the sky, without taking its egg. Soon disappeared to the night sky.

Jericho, sweaty and bloody thought to himself:

-I guess I'm living another day, huh? Woah… I think I deserve some …argh... appreciation. 

 Soon, he saw the purplish and ominous looking egg too, taking it to his lap and hugging it, he soon fell asleep.

-Is this what I lost my pretty face for…? Sigh… Nah, it was just a small price to keep my dumb brother safe and alive…