Callie's Heroes

PART II: WE HAVE DECIDED

Jesca found Tazrok sitting on the ground at the edge of the training field. It was the same location where they'd talked the night before, and thus was a stark reminder of the pact the two had made with each other. Not really needing to sleep, that had left her with way too much time to overthink the agreement, and overthink what to say to Rowani and Maugra. Running had helped a little bit, and she'd even changed into her unicorn form to just get some more speed. It hadn't helped very much, though.

"Hey, Tazrok," Jesca said, sitting down next to him. She pulled her knees in close and wrapped her tail around herself, much as she had done the night before. "I was told you were looking for me."

Tazrok seemed to pause for several moments before finally replying, "Good afternoon, Jesca." There was something a little odd about what he said and how he said it. Tazrok had always referred to Jesca simply as 'Jesca Catkin', and his words seemed to have more of a … flow to them. "Talked to Kitty Lady," he continued, then he stopped himself. He took a deep breath, trying again. "I spoke with Trainer Rowani, and they say will meet …" He growled. "She said they would meet with us."

"Now?"

"Soon. Must meet at big rock…" Tazrok's words cut off and he growled angrily again. Speaking under his breath to someone unseen, he snarled, "Annoying ghosts! Am dumb, remember? Will be slow to learn!" He then rolled his eyes, took a calming breath and tried again. "They would like to meet at the lookout rock."

Jesca couldn't help but smirk a bit at Tazrok's frustration trying to speak better, obviously being lectured in his head by his ancestral spirits. She could almost imagine the interaction, one of those spirits rapping him on his proverbial knuckles with a stick to make him get the words right or something. He was trying though, and that helped bolster Jesca's resolve a little bit, too. She was still scared, but she was going to try to soldier on.

"Come," Tazrok said, rising to his feet. "We fly. Will be early, but good view." He made another growl and mumbled a quiet, "Go away!"

Swallowing nervously, Jesca nodded. "I'm still not good at flying. Landing is hard."

"Can heal if hurt," Tazrok said, before he wibbled into his flying kitty form.

Jesca changed shape, too, assuming that of a chromatic drakeling, just like Iris. The mismatched animals made for a strange combination. Tazrok had a little more bulk to him, but the colorful Jesca was sleeker, longer from snout to tip, and her wings were much larger than his, too. As a result, Jesca was, or at least would ultimately be once she got comfortable flying, much faster and more nimble than the shape-changed Ogre.

Tazrok took to the air, flapping his feathered wings to get height. Jesca did the same, her own wings flickering in red and yellow panic for a moment, until they fully caught the air and she stabilized. They flew up and then over the trees, Tazrok quite graceful while poor Jesca's own flying was a bit erratic, flashes of bright panicked lights randomly occurring every time she momentarily lost control. To any onlooker, it would probably look a little comical. To the fledgling drakeling, though, not so much.

By air, it wasn't very far to the big lookout rock, and the two arrived quickly. Tazrok gently landed first, changing into his people form. He watched as Jesca circled a few times, making two or three hesitant and then aborted landing attempts, the flashes of color becoming more nervously intense each time. Finally, the Ogre held out his arms, bellowing, "Come! I catch!". He waved Jesca towards himself, repositioning his arms like a big basket. Jesca circled. Then circled again, this time aborting at the last moment. She made one more loop around before diving in for a final landing, smashing into Tazrok's chest with a panicked flap of her wings.

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

The Ogre just held his arms in place, waiting for his now-close friend to relax enough to realize she was safely out of the air. It took a couple seconds, but then Jesca calmed and wobbled into her own people form, legs dangling over Tazrok's big hands as she looked up at the Ogre, who was doing the best he could to keep from laughing.

"Thanks," Jesca said sheepishly. "I suppose I need to practice more, don't I?" Tazrok said nothing, only bending slightly as she slipped to the ground, feet blessedly-thankful to be on a solid surface. "At least Iris wasn't out and laughing at me. She's actually a little mean with her critiques, sometimes."

"Getting better," Tazrok said simply. "Will learn fast and then fly good." Apparently nobody was correcting his speech at the moment. Turning, he walked over to the edge of the rock outcropping, sitting down and dangling his huge legs over the edge. He sat looking out over the lush forest canopy below them, his mind just sort of wandering. It was late-afternoon, so the sun was still fairly high, coming in from the side over his left shoulder, but it felt wonderful. In fact, it had been a perfect day so far. Bright and sunshiny, with a light cool breeze, promising another warm, almost-cloudless evening ahead. A person couldn't ask for a better Midsummer celebration.

"So, what did you think of Lena and Juniper?" Jesca asked as she took a spot next to Tazrok on the sunny side, shifting so her legs dangled, too. "I hadn't expected that."

Tazrok simply shrugged. "Lena Elf has much love in heart. Sees as weakness, so pretends not."

"Really? She's always saying she never wants to get married or have children."

"Lies to self. Needs someone to love to be happy. Tree Lady unexpected, though."

"Yeah, it sure was. I thought she'd go back to Dregorio, at least for the holiday."

Tazrok tossed a rock, almost the size of Jesca's head, into the distance. "Actually loves Vanis. Just doesn't know yet. Will learn soon." He picked up and handed a smaller stone to Jesca.

"You think?" Jesca said, throwing the rock into the forest far below, too. "She gives the impression she hates him. She hates nobles and rich people."

Tazrok dubiously looked at Jesca and shook his head. "Very obvious. Not sure if Vanis loves back, but might soon will."

"Oh. I guess I don't see it. Then again, I don't understand love, so what do I know? It all seems like a confusing weight to have to carry. An annoyance sometimes, too."

"Love is … big feeling. Special feeling. Warm, like sun on face. Hot, like fire in forge. Want to hold close; to protect. Crush anything that threaten. Share dreams together. Feel empty if gone. Empty with no bottom. Forever empty and hurt when gone." Then he snarled slightly, mumbling, "Shut up, ghosts! I use own words now!"

Jesca smirked at the one-sided argument. Unfortunately, Tazrok's description really didn't help her in the slightest, and she tried not to let it show on her face. He was trying to be insightful, and she appreciated that, but maybe Tazrok just didn't have the words yet. Someday he might, though. He was listening to those voices now, at least occasionally, and maybe they could teach him. Then again, love was one of those things that Jesca also knew was nearly impossible to define. She felt a moment of sadness, as it occurred to her that those words might never be able to come to her Ogre friend.

A contented quiet came over the pair as they stared out at the green below them, really seeing nothing, entwined in their own thoughts. A couple times, Tazrok summoned a Healing Berry, watching it form slowly in his hands before he'd toss it out to the forest floor. Unlike the last time he'd been here and done that, the berry held its shape, rather than turning into a gooey mess. He was a Druid, and unlike then, he accepted that now. Summoning another, he offered it to Jesca, as if it was a piece of candy. Shrugging, the Beastmaster accepted it, popping the summoned sweet into her mouth, the magics unneeded but feeling good, all the same.

"Thank you for doing this with me," Jesca eventually whispered, not turning from the view before her. "Even if they can't help us, I'm glad you are here. I'm still nervous, but together we can find our path."

Gently, very gently, Tazrok reached over to place his huge hand on Jesca's back, as if to be comforting. The touch was so light that the Cheetahkin didn't even feel it for a moment. "You will be good leader to your people," Tazrok said, and it was evident it was his words being spoken.

"You will be, too," Jesca replied.

"Then together, we have decided."