Callie's Heroes

PART II: STAR LIGHT, STAR BRIGHT

"Okay! All of you! You've got to give me some air," Callie gasped. She pushed, rather roughly, against one of the Dwarves that had in turn been pushed towards her by someone else. She was being mobbed by about a dozen recruits excitedly babbling about her performance. At least Pixyl had managed to escape. "Back two steps!" Callie finally snapped sharply.

Surprisingly, most of the throng did back up two steps, or at least a bit, allowing Callie to actually see the star-like ceiling of the tent again. "I'm glad you enjoyed it, but I'm done for the night, okay?" Callie snarled. There was a bit of a collective groan and most shoulders deflated. Having fans was weird!

"Everyone shoo!" Jesca said, sweeping in to aid in rescue and waving everyone away. That seemed to work, and people started to grudgingly wander off. She shot one last hard glare at a pair of reluctant Dwarves, and they turned, too.

"Thanks," Callie said. She waved to Pixyl, who had been patiently waiting off to the side, and she returned, carrying a wine cup for Callie as well.

"It was very … interesting music," Jesca said. Her voice was obviously hedging a bit. "It was very … fast. And … spirited!"

"Hey! It was g-g-great!" Pixyl snapped, not quite angry, but obviously a little defensive of Callie.

Jesca's eyes went wide. "No no! I didn't mean…"

Callie waved both her friends down. "I know what you meant. It's different from what you're used to, I'm sure."

"Different. Yes," Jesca confirmed, trying to avoid the continuing glare from her Pixie friend. "That's what I'd call it. Different, but fun!"

Around the room, what remained of the raucous atmosphere was quickly starting to ebb. While a few looks were periodically sent towards Callie, in general people returned to socializing or to their companions. Now with the music done for the evening, a lot of couples were also leaving the tent, many going outside to look at the moon and watch the shooting star show, or maybe returning to their staff or guest cabins. Callie suspected the party would wind down soon, and she just wanted to spend some quality time with Pixyl before calling it a night. There'd be more time to socialize tomorrow if that's what people wanted to do with her.

Callie was also dealing with some mixed emotions. None of them were really 'bad', but there were still a lot of them. In a way, this was her first time really playing solo 'professionally', or at least before a crowd expecting professional-level performance. Sure, she'd played pick-up rhythm with her dad's band a few times in the past, but she was always one of the background players and not the center of attention. She'd already had butterflies getting up on stage, but when Deduxia and company roped her into two more songs, it was unexpected. At the time, she wasn't in a position to process it. Now the retroactive feelings of dread, coupled with the fading adrenaline, were working together to actually make her feel a little queasy. Having an army of groupie Dwarves hounding her hadn't really helped any.

The other emotions she was feeling were hard to understand. It was as if she, not in a magical sense, but in a spiritual one, had channeled her father. She had used all the little things he, and her grandfather for that matter, had taught her over the years about music and performance, and somehow made it happen by pure instinct. The set now ended, Callie was finding an emptiness in her. She was missing them terribly, and by extension, her mother and back home. Just when she had managed to push home aside to embrace her new life, something happened to bring up her previous life again. She could only hope she made her father and grandfather proud, wherever they may be watching her from. Maybe she just needed to sit and be held for a little while.

Thankfully, a snort of laughter snapped Callie out of getting depressed inside her own head. Not far away, a noticeably intoxicated Lena was covering her face in embarrassment. She was talking to a very excited, and also intoxicated, Juniper about something, the Dryad waving her hands in the air and gesturing wildly, leading to near-histrionic cackling on the part of Lena. Then, Juniper held up a 'wait-a-moment' finger. Clasping her hands together, the Dryad focused for a few seconds, before separating them. In a tiny cascade of sparkles, a long-stemmed single blue flower somewhat similar to a rose appeared, and Juniper presented it to Lena. In turn, Lena curtseyed deeply and rather mockingly, before taking the flower, inhaling the scent. It was … odd.

Not far away, Callie spied Lady Winafria, her face now bright and excited, as she talked to her brother and Kyra, her husband dutifully standing by. Xera soon joined the four of them, and Callie could just make out some positive praise from the Lady about the camp, followed by a mention of Callie's name. Wincing slightly, Callie could only hope that the mention had been for equally positive reasons. The smiles continued, though, at least.

"Would you be up for going outside?" Callie eventually asked Pixyl. There were too many people and she wanted air.

"Okay," Pixyl replied with a nod.

"Let's grab a couple snacks and go find a place to watch the skies."

After getting a small plate of some remaining kabob nuggets, some raw veggies, and a small scoop of a savory dip for said veggies, Callie and Pixyl left the tent. The air was warm, and the sky moonlit with only a few clouds breaking up the tapestry of starlight. The two walked, not really sure where to go.

As they moved away from the big tent, they soon spied couples that had started to spread out, sitting close to each other and watching the skies. In a few places, the groups were a little bigger, either multiple couples socializing quietly, or in one case, Dregorio and his … temporary harem. Hopefully Lena wouldn't find the Catkin. That could get awkward.

With this many people out on the field, a lot of the good spots for sitting were occupied, and eventually Callie and Pixyl wound their way to the Ranger range. It hadn't been an intentional destination on Callie's part, but there weren't any people there at least. By now, most of the damage that Callie had caused demonstrating to the Arkan had been smoothed over by the Geomancer recruits, only patches of bare dirt showing where the craters had once been. A large load of replacement hay bales had also been brought up by someone and stacked, but the destroyed targets had yet to be fully repaired. The staged materials made for a cozy spot, and handing the plate between them as they each sat, both Callie and Pixyl snuggled down behind to hide from the others..

"You were w-w-wonderful," Pixyl said, "up on stage, I mean."

"Thanks," Callie blushed. "It was fun."

"I had no idea you could do that. It was so d-d-different from what you usually play."

"It's a party. It has to be fun and upbeat. 'Read the room' my dad had always said."

"You read it," Pixyl grinned, taking Callie's hand, kissing the back of it, and then holding it against her cheek.

"I think a lot of it was their Bard magic too, but I'm glad you liked it. I mostly played for you, except for giving Lena a little shit, that is." Callie grinned. "After all, you're my number-one fangirl."

Pixyl just looked away, embarrassed, and then suddenly pointed up excitedly. "There's one!"

Overhead, a long yellow streak appeared briefly in the sky as a shooting star made an appearance. A moment later, Callie heard a couple 'oooo' sounds from distant other people with her Gnomish super-hearing. It was pretty. "You said this always happens?"

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

Pixyl nodded. "It starts about two weeks before Ohler rises, and will continue until a couple weeks after it sets. The sky will light up, too, with c-c-curtains of bright wavy colors once we can see him. Those can even be bright enough to see during the day, sometimes. At its peak, Ohler won't set, either."

"Sounds pretty," Callie said, leaning back and staring upwards. "I look forward to seeing it."

"It is. When I was little, there was a small lake not far from where I grew up. In the middle of the lake was a tiny island maybe fifteen meters across. I'd sometimes fly out to it to w-w-watch the skies alone, once I learned to fly over water, that was. It was a nice place to escape to when … when I needed to escape."

"Must have been wonderfully quiet. It never really got quiet for me growing up. There was always the city noise around me. Even when it was sort of quiet, there were always sounds of something out …"

Callie's words were cut off by another long streak in the sky, and with it, it seemed the need to talk faded with the dying light. Pixyl clasped Callie's arm, wrapping both her own around it and holding tight as she snuggled close, and Callie cocked her head slightly to the side to touch Pixyl's, both looking up in anticipation of the next shooting star.

Callie and Pixyl laid there, watching the sky and counting the streaks. The night insects were chirping loudly in the moonlight, but save for that, and an occasional distant 'ooo' of delight from someone else, all was quiet. By now, all the excitement and adrenaline from her performance had faded, leaving Callie with a contented, calm feeling as she held Pixyl tight. It had been a long day, and assuming they didn't fall asleep here, they'd need to wander back to Ogre House soon. Falling asleep here, under the warm night stars, had a certain appeal, though.

"Hey," Pixyl whispered, jabbing Callie gently with her elbow. "Somebody's coming."

Callie had been apparently dozing a bit, and she woke up with a start. "What?"

Pixyl gestured with her chin generally towards the rest of the camp, blocked by the pile of hay bales they were hiding behind.

It took a moment for the two of them to disentangle themselves, and Callie quickly pulled her dress back into place. Apparently Pixyl had casually pushed it up, and her hand had been sitting on the inside of Callie's thigh. Not so much groping or doing anything, but more just … resting intimately, while they'd been relaxing together. Groaning a bit as she stood, Callie looked back. It took a moment to adjust to the changes in lighting, but then she saw Reynard, of all people, slowly crutching his way towards them. He'd cleared his throat, purposely making polite noise to let them know he was there. Callie didn't see his chair or anyone that had been assisting, so If he'd crutch-walked all this way, it wouldn't have been that easy for him.

"Odd," Pixyl said quietly as she brushed some loose hay off her uniform.. "What would he want?"

"I dunno," Callie replied, also brushing herself off. She put on her best, most-innocent of smiles.

"Good evening," Reynard said, keeping his voice low and raising a paw in greeting.

"Hi," Callie replied, raising her hand and wiggling her fingers in return.

"Lovely evening, isn't it." Reynard looked up at the skies, using his free arm to gesture generically while his face spread into a warm smile that seemed just a tad suspect at the same time.

"Yes, quite lovely," Callie said simply. She narrowed her eyes just slightly. Something felt off.

Callie's somewhat chilly response wasn't lost on Reynard, and he quickly cleared his throat. "I apologize for interrupting. I was hoping I might have a few minutes of your time, Callie."

"This couldn't wait?"

"I'm afraid not." Reynard then looked at Pixyl. "In private, please."

Seriously? This wasn't something that could have waited until the morning? Still, he'd crutched his way all the way out here, so it must be something important, especially since he was with Yulayla for the holiday. Fine! Whatever. The sooner she did this, the sooner he'd leave!

"Sure," Callie said, adding a diplomatic smile. Turning to Pixyl she added, "Could you give us a few minutes? If you'd be willing, see if there's any kabob parts left. That'd be nummy."

Pixyl was noticeably more irritated by the interruption than even Callie was, but grudgingly agreed, saying she'd be back in a bit. Picking up the empty plate off the ground, she fluttered into the air, disappearing back towards the camp.

"What?" Callie said curtly, roughly putting her hands on her hips and glaring just a bit.

Reynard gestured towards one of the hay bales as if asking permission to sit, and Callie nodded with a sigh. Carefully, the Ranger trainer navigated, before setting his crutch aside and slowly lowering himself to sit, wincing a bit as he did so. In turn, Callie sat on another, facing him.

"Shouldn't you be with Yulayla?" Callie asked. She focused to remove the irritated edge from her voice, internally running a couple quick prime sequences through her head to relax the momentary grouchiness. "How is that going? She seems happy."

"It's going fine," Reynard snapped, almost instinctively, but then he softened. He did owe some of this to Callie. "Sorry," he mumbled. "It's going well. We've very much enjoyed each other's company. I'll be joining her in a bit; she went back to her cabin to … freshen up."

"'Freshen up'?" Callie mocked. In return, Reynard's face took on a subtle, sly grin. Someone was going to get laid. "Is it serious, or just for Midsummer?"

Reynard paused for several beats, before slowly replying, "I'm not sure, honestly. I suppose time will tell."

"Do you want it to be?"

Half-shrugging, Reynard said, "Maybe. I have … reservations."

"What? Why? She likes you, that much is obvious. It seems you like her."

It took a few more seconds but then Reynard seemed to deflate. "She's … she's not Talania. It's not the same."

"Of course she's not," Callie said, almost scoffing with the response as she rolled her eyes. "Why the heck would you expect her to be the same? She's a whole different person."

"You're too young to understand."

Well that was just a patronizing response! Callie narrowed her eyes. "I may be young, but even I can see you're being an idiot. Thorn would tell you the same thing, as well as the others."

The insult took Reynard by surprise, and his mouth hung open for a moment, as if the words he'd been about to say had evaporated, leaving him with nothing. He honestly shouldn't be talking with Callie about this. Yet, he'd told her and Jesca about how he and Talania had met, and even had a fun conversation about it. Somehow he was feeling he could actually open up a bit. "It's just …" he started to say, but the words choked off and the air grew still.

Callie waited a bit. She could see Reynard was trying to wrestle with his own thoughts. Eventually, she spoke up. "I never got to meet her, but from what you've told me, your wife was a wonderful person. And because of that, I am absolutely sure of one thing. She would want you to be happy, not be alone and completely miserable."

"I'm not miserable, Callie! I'm just …"

Callie raised one of her pink eyebrows, as if daring Reynard to finish that sentence as she cut his words off with only a look.

"I'm not miserable," he echoed again, but with far, far less defensiveness. Maybe even with a little doubt, as if trying to convince himself, too.

Callie switched and raised her other eyebrow, something that apparently Ambidexterity extended to. Pixyl and Tazrok both thought it was hilarious when she did it, for some reason.

"Okay, maybe I'm a little miserable," Reynard finally conceded. "I feel like I'd be trying to replace her if I became serious with someone else."

"You're never going to be able to replace her, Sir, so stop trying to! Yulayla is a different person, and getting serious with her doesn't mean that you have to forget about Talania." Callie then remembered the story that the Arkan had told them, and it gave her some more words. "Life is a series of chapters, and maybe it's time for you to turn the page. You know she'd want you to move on instead of wallowing for decades."

Sighing, Reynard leaned back against the pile of bales, one of his paws rubbing the top of his head. You could see he was in deep thought, or maybe conflicted. He turned slightly, looking out over the rising hill of the Ranger range, the bright moon hanging in the sky over it, twinkling stars peppering the black.

"Just open yourself to the idea," Callie said. "Maybe it doesn't work out, but at least take the time to see what happens. I mean … she seems to be willing to put up with you for some reason, after all."

Reynard laughed once, looked back at Callie's grinning face, and then laughed another time as he returned to watching the sky. Callie turned, too, facing the same direction, looking out and up at the same nothing. There was a sudden long streak of yellow, which split in two for a second, before both lines disappeared. They sat in silence for a few minutes.

"So what do you think of our Midsummer holiday?" Reynard finally asked absently.

"It's been fun. The story it's based on, and the traditions, are a little odd, but it's been fun. I liked making masks and the dinner was fantastic."

"Do they have anything like this back on your world?"

"Well, we sort of have Valentine's Day, but that's …"