Callie's Heroes

PART 1: CONGRATULATIONS … OR I'M SORRY

After the music ended, Callie handed off the guitar to Nekini, who was doing the best he could to not be as shocked as the rest of the band. He was mostly succeeding, but upon taking the instrument, he couldn't help but look down at it with a disbelieving reverence, as if in awe of the new sounds it had made. As for the rest of the band, the poor Pantherkin was panting, lightweight drum mallets still clutched tightly in her paws as she sort of just stared at nothing. The music had dragged her along, forcing her to play at Callie's pace, and the surprised exhaustion had been unexpected.

The other musicians weren't as bad off, but the Elf that had been on bass lightly set it down, before taking a moment to pace across the back of the mostly-dark stage in a daze a few times while collecting himself, the Fairy that had been playing fiddle soon doing the same. Both were trying to process the music they had just made.

"Lusha!" Deduxia called out, dropping the instrument she was holding about a half-meter to the floor. She rushed over to the Illusionist, who was very obviously not doing well and looking a little wobbly. The Gnome barely made it in time to awkwardly catch her friend, and Callie rushed over to help, spying a booster off to the side and fetching it along the way so the Elf could sit.

"I'm fine," Lusha said. The beads of sweat on her forehead showed that she was lying. She was not 'fine'.

"Mana drain?" Callie asked. It seemed the most-obvious problem.

"No, I'm fine. I have mana. Just slightly dizzy. Just give me a moment, that's all."

Deduxia snapped her fingers to get Callie's attention before pointing off to the side where a pitcher of water and several cups were. Callie ran over and then came back, bringing them both along with her. Deduxia took the pitcher, and filled the cup Callie was holding.

"Here you go," Callie whispered. Lusha nodded and shakily took the cup, some splashing out, before Deduxia took it away from her, holding it steady while the Elf sipped.

By now, the rest of the band had taken notice and rushed over, too, the drummer still clutching her mallets, as if her paws wouldn't open.

"Do you want me to get a healer?" Callie asked. "We've got lots of them here."

"No need," Lusha said firmly, "I'm fine." The look on the faces of both Deduxia and Nekini said Callie should get one anyway. Nekini then gestured silently towards the room with his chin, making sure Callie knew to ignore the Illusionist.

Ducking through legs to get out of the circle, Callie was trying to decide who she should fetch. But there was a quick fluttering in the air and she looked to see Healer Tasi coming in for a fast landing.

"What's wrong? Report!" the Fairy demanded, terse and businesslike, Callie being the first face she saw.

"She almost fainted," Callie said quickly. "She said she has mana, so it's probably not mana drain." Then she added quickly, "She just drank a potion before that last song, a yellow one." One of the things the recruits had been trained in was how to report the injuries of others quickly, which included any treatments made or potions administered, and it came almost automatically to Callie.

"Got it," Tasi said, nodding tersely. She walked stiffly past Callie calling out, "Make a hole! Let me in."

In the audience, most of those that had been close were filing out of the dance area, looking for refills on drinks or maybe a late-night snack, while others were leaving the tent to enjoy the warm, night air. Some were a little shocked from the music, but most were pretty amped up by the last song and talking excitedly.

"Is she alright?" Lhawni called up to Callie from the floor, Chown standing next to her and holding her hand. She'd obviously seen the concerned group and what it was concerned about. "I was coming over, but Tasi beat me."

"She got dizzy and almost fainted," Callie said. "Not mana drain, though."

Lhawni frowned. "She might need a Rejuvenation anyway." Turning to Chown, she added, "Boost me up." He did so, Callie lending a hand from above to help her Goblin friend scramble onto the stage.

In the audience, there were a small number of curious onlookers on the floor trying to see what was going on, but Callie waved them off with, "Just a little faint," which seemed to mollify them. Callie returned to the rest of the band members, standing off to the side on the chance that Tasi needed something else brought to her.

Tasi, in turn, had taken her diagnostic stone out of a pocket, apparently keeping one with her even while in formal uniform. She was frowning in concentration while passing it over Lusha's head, the Illusionist continuing to protest that she was feeling just fine. Tasi, of course, ignored her.

"Need a Rejuvenation?" Lhawni asked, having woven between the legs of the others to get close.

"Not yet," Tasi said, before adding, "but I might. Let me see what's going on here."

"Really, I'm fine. It will go away like it has before."

"Before? How many times has this happened, and for how long has it been happening?" Tasi demanded.

"One or two times, maybe? That's all. The first was a couple weeks ago."

"At least six times that I've seen," Deduxia clarified. "Not just when she's casting, either, although a bit of stamina potion usually gets her up and going again."

Continuing down her body, Tasi examined Lusha's chest and arms, then worked her way down, stopping at Lusha's stomach. Frowning momentarily and then chuckling lightly, Tasi looked up and motioned Lhawni closer. "Right here. Diagnose here," she said, shifting into training mode and pointing. "You need to learn to recognize this."

"What's wrong?" several voices echoed simultaneously.

Frowning, Lhawni moved closer, her hand faintly glowing as she called up her own Diagnose spell. Setting her hand gently on the Elf's stomach, and then moving it around a bit, her eyes went wide. "She's …?"

"Yup," Tasi said.

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

Lusha's face grew even more pale, and she deflated, as if about to receive less-than-great news that she actually already knew.

"You, my friend, are pregnant," Tasi said, setting her hand on Lusha's arm. "Maybe six or seven weeks. Eight? Around there, anyway. Pushing that much magic in your state, it's no wonder you got exhausted. You need to rest and avoid potions. Occasional stamina potions are fine until your fourth month, but no more than one per day in total, and better in small sips. Avoid mana potions completely if you are able, and keep your casting reasonable."

"How? I have yogosi." Lusha sputtered.

Tasi gave her patient a nonplussed look. "And when did you last change it out?"

"I don't know. Two years?"

Tasi continued the stare, her eyes getting a more stern, yet almost motherly tone to them.

"Maybe th-th-three years?" Lusha admitted sheepishly.

"Pregnant?" Deduxia boggled. "From who?!"

"Um …" Lusha replied, her eyes shifting to the bassist of their own volition. Then she deflated even further.

"Told you they were together," Nekini said to his wife with a chuckle, before stepping away to resume packing things.

Tasi smiled comfortingly and patted Lusha's arm. "Congratulations … or I'm sorry. Take your pick. We'll get you feeling better and back on your feet now, but you need to come by and see me in the morning. No potions and no alcohol the rest of the night, though. We'll do a full exam and discuss what you want to do. You have options." She looked to Lhawni. "I want all the healer recruits there, too. This will be good instruction for you all, so you know what to look for. Ten o'clock. See to it, Sub-Captain. In the meantime, give her a Refresh to help her feel better."

"Uh … yes, … uh … Colonel?" Lhawni replied, her inflection questioning, mentally stumbling over how to respond. It was a sudden and startling reminder of her unexpected new rank and responsibilities. She was going to actually need to issue her first orders, the sarcastic ones earlier to Chown obviously not counting, and issue them to her friends on top of that. She could ask nicely, she supposed, but she was apparently an officer now, and that meant she needed … command presence? She shouldn't just 'ask' them, right?

The crisis over, or at least being addressed, Callie quietly backed away. They didn't need her there any more. From the look on Lusha's face, and the almost horrified look on the bassist's, it was obviously not a planned pregnancy. While she was quite curious as to what the 'options' were in this world, this moment didn't concern her. She could ask Lhawni or Ambria about it later.

"That music was wonderful, by the way," Nekini said, stepping up behind and slightly startling Callie. "More than wonderful, actually."

"I'm glad," Callie said, grateful for the change of topic. "It was amazing how you all kept up."

"It is an amazing spell, that's for sure. I look forward to getting to Topaz myself." Then he added, "I'm only Platinum. She's much, much better than I am."

"Some day, I'll have to learn a few more Bard spells of my own," Callie said. "I only have that Inspiring Melody one."

"It's one of the foundations to everything it means to be a Bard. If you can perfect it, other skills come much easier. Plus, you actually already know how to play. Sing, too. Having that actual talent will be immensely helpful when learning the magic."

Shuffling his foot for a moment, Nekini continued. "I have a request, if you'd be willing."

"Sure! What do you need?"

"Tomorrow is going to be too busy, since we're playing at the picnic. But would you be willing to sit down with us for a few hours the next day? Honestly, we all greedily want to learn what we can from you before we leave. We … we can pay if you want us to."

"Of course, and absolutely no charge. I have no use for money here, anyway. I should have all day, although Vanis did ask me to show Lady Winafria one of my skills, and I'm not sure I'll get to that tomorrow due to all the stuff happening. Otherwise, my schedule should be open. We'll find time."

Nekini relaxed as Callie said goodnight and walked away to join her friends on the floor. He'd been a little reluctant to make a request to learn more from Callie. Bards, as a rule, don't share, especially if they were trying to earn a living from the class. To make it professionally, really make it, you had to somehow stand out against your peers; to be unique in some way. If you weren't, you pretty much became relegated to playing on street corners for coins, or maybe earning a bed and a meal by playing in an inn's tavern for the customers. That wasn't much of a living.

Bard magic helped a lot in standing out. Being able to weave personal emotions into the music, and leave lasting impressions in the listener, helped to differentiate one Bard's performance from another, even if playing essentially the same music. Deduxia had become an absolute master at this, long ago surpassing Nekini's skill, able to take the simplest of music and turn it into something that would live on in someone's memory. Adding an illusionist to the troupe had helped them make that impression even better. Unfortunately, that wasn't always enough, and it felt almost like they had been in a rut of late, and not really standing out any more.

Nekini returned to putting the last of the things away. There honestly wasn't much left to do at this point, but he didn't want to crowd Lusha and the others. It was a bit of a personal moment for her, and she didn't need to see his face. Could they find another Illusionist if they had to? Even worse, they may also need to replace their bass player! A discussion for later, but soon.

"I heard her say yes," Deduxia said, coming up behind Nekini and hooking her arm with his. She nodded her head toward Callie to indicate who she meant.

Startled from his wandering thoughts, Nekini nodded. "She did. I don't think she realizes what we are asking her to do, and I feel bad about it, in a way. We aren't stealing from her, are we? These new musical ideas and sounds? I know she said she's happy to show us, but …"

Deduxia hedged a moment as her husband trailed off. "Maybe. But I hate to say it, we need something new; something to make us … memorable. We've got great magic, sure, but you and I both know that isn't enough. We haven't been very happy with our music for a while, it's been feeling too ordinary, and she's shown us something new. I know we make decent money right now, and playing here was a huge help despite the long trip, but we aren't actually making much progress on getting famous like you and I have always wanted to, and that's because we're still trying to find that something special."

"I know. We have to do something nice for her, though. As a way to say thank you, that is."

"We could put a little money aside as we earn it, and give it to her when she gets back? As a way to pay for what she shows us? That will be a big help for her starting out again, too. Stars, she can join the troupe if she wants. She doesn't have all the Bard skills, but she makes up for it with talent and she can learn a few basic ones given time. She already knows Inspiring Melody and has an Amplification Sigil skill. With that foundation, it won't take long."

"She's ren, you know. There's places we wouldn't be able to play."

Deduxia shrugged. "Then we don't play there. Darling, one of her best friends is Prince Vanis. A few kind words spoken into the right ears, and we'll be flooded with work."

"Ugh, I'd feel even more like we're using her, then. We definitely need to do something nice for her."

"We will. I have a feeling we're going to be friends for a long, long time." Deduxia glanced over at Lusha, who was … well, she was breathing at least. Their Illusionist was not taking the news particularly well, nor was their bassist. Deduxia sighed nostalgically. "You know, Callie's at the age that she could have been our own …" Then the words sort of died away, fading to a whispering croak. There was a long, sad silence. "I'm sorry for bringing that up, the words just slipped out. I wasn't thinking."

"It's okay," Nekini said, pulling his wife close for the moment and kissing her temple. "I'd be lying if I said I hadn't had the same thought."

"We would have been good parents," Deduxia eventually replied in a whisper, leaning her head against her husband's.

"If we want, we're still young enough we could try again," Nekini said quietly after a bit, but his wife just shook her head.

"I know I couldn't go through that a second time. Losing …" Deduxia sighed and pulled her husband close as her free hand moved instinctively to her belly. "Not again. I'm sorry."

"I love you and you need never apologize. We have nieces and nephews to spoil. Maybe Callie, too, in time."

"I'd like that," Deduxia whispered. "I'd like that a lot."