Primal Dawn

“Blegh,” Rin vomited off to the left. Peter turned the wheelbarrow towards the right and continued to push it at an awkward angle so her previous meals wouldn’t splatter his shoes.

They, along with Kalista, Gaia, and Jack, were currently making their way out from the forest. After emptying out the wheelbarrow of all contents digging for money and licenses, Peter realized that it would be a faster way of moving Rin. Now that she was going with them.

Kalista was presently supporting Jack while Gaia was carrying a large sack with both hands. Peter had felt some guilt taking the food which bounced around inside, but Gaia insisted. At this rate, it seemed like their journey would go longer than expected, and their supplies would certainly run out with the addition of Jack and Rin, who had nothing to eat for the remainder of the trip. She also reminded him that this group had attacked them.

Peter spotted a rising column of smoke from the direction of the caravan and suddenly increased his pace. “W-w-woa– Blegh,” Rin sprayed all over the ground. The wheelbarrow was bouncing up and down along with her across the uneven terrain.

“Sorry! Sorry!” Peter kept repeating.

When he finally emerged from the forest, he saw the others standing before what appeared to be a pyre, and Peter let out a sigh of relief. The others soon caught up to him, and the two groups reconvened.

“We managed to save a tamer,” Peter explained excitedly to Lore.

Lore gave a slight smile. “I see you’ve rescued someone else as well.”

Peter nodded. “This is… Rin.” Peter made an awkward expression. “She was part of the Free Women, but Jack, the tamer we found, wishes to tame her, so she is coming with us.”

“How do you, huup,” Rin placed her fist in front of her mouth, “do?” She was swaying side to side within the wheelbarrow as she spoke.

“Rin?” a voice asked aloud. It was the Goblin.

“You were telling the truth, so you’re free to go,” Peter said. Fira untied the rope constraining the Goblin and she stood up, rubbing her wrists.

“Ms. Occo,” Rin replied softly.

“You’re going with them?” Occo asked.

Rin nodded. “Ms. Alice and the others, even though I was a burden, they took me in. I did my best around the camp, and convinced myself it would be fine since they were so many. But now…” Rin stared at the pyre for a moment before returning her attention to Occo. “I cannot place that weight on you alone. I will go with Mr. Jack, and serve however I can.”

The Goblin looked in thought for a moment, before her eyes suddenly bulged. “Wait, if there are no tamers left at the camp, and I’m just by myself…” she angrily turned towards Peter. “This isn’t what you promised! Freedom? How am I going to survive on my own?!”

Peter thought for a moment. He hadn’t considered his offer too deeply when he had made it. He just needed the information out of her, and wasn’t too concerned about a lone primal in these parts. There were marauding groups of ferals, what could one primal do, even if she was self-aware?

But thinking of her situation, she’s now alone, her captives were freed, and she’s at the halfway point between Shantee and Wildburry. Soon enough, she may be feral without any humans around. And that was if she was lucky enough to not be torn apart by nearby ferals.

What is freedom for a primal? Is such a thing even possible?

“You got what you asked for,” Fira muttered aloud. “You should have thought more carefully about what the offer meant.”

Peter was surprised. He had expected Fira to join the Goblin in accusing him of misleading her, not criticizing her.

“Please, let me come with you, like Rin!” Occo begged, her cloudy eyes staring into Peter’s. He averted his gaze.

“Jack is going to be bonding with her once he’s recovered. I don’t think anyone else is interested in taking on more primals, so you’d have to ask him,” Peter said as he pointed towards the tamer in question.

The Goblin looked towards Jack and suddenly went pale. “Please!” she shouted, looking around the others. “Isn’t there anyone? I-I promise I’ll fight, I-I’m sorry we attacked you, I’ll do anything!”

Every tamer she faced averted their gaze in response. Part of Peter was hoping that they would all decline.

He had agreed to allow Rin to come with them out of some sympathy for Jack, and she seemed mostly harmless. She was slow moving and didn’t seem to have any fight in her, though perhaps it was a ruse. They would have to keep an eye on her at night; no matter how slow, she could easily creep up on someone sleeping and rip out their throat.

But when it comes to Occo, she had just attacked them earlier today, and was still a threat. 

“Looks like you’re stuck with me,” Jack said in an almost sinister tone. Occo let out a whimper.

“Will you be able to handle two primals in your condition?” Peter asked, praying for a certain answer.

“Give me a day or so and I’ll be fine.” Unfortunate. Well, fortunate for Jack, but unfortunately, it means that Occo would not be tamed until a couple of days later. If Jack could desummon her, then it would be fine, but until then…

“Sorry, but I’m going to have to ask that Occo is bound to a summoning stone until she’s tamed,” Peter said as he pulled one out.

“What?!” Occo shouted, stepping away from him.

“We were just fighting you not too long ago, and I don’t trust you yet. Either let yourself be captured or you can’t come with us.”

Both Peter and Occo glanced towards Jack, waiting for his reaction.

“Fine by me.”

Peter let out a sigh of relief while Occo began to panic. “How do I know you’re going to let me out of the stone? You’re just going to capture me and never let me out, I bet! I never had options at all!”

“I gave my word that I would set you free, and I did. I’ll give my word that we’ll let you out of the stone, at least by the time we reach Shantee,” Peter said.

“What if I turned feral by then? Are you going to just kill me?” Occo began to hyperventilate.

Peter frowned. “No, we won’t kill you. Jack said he’ll be fine in a day, will you be able to hold out at least until then?”

“M-maybe,” Occo stuttered, still focused on the tiny rock in Peter’s hands. 

“You won’t get a better deal elsewhere,” Fira said.“You attacked this caravan, they could have killed you like your leader, but they gave you a choice instead. Do you think this is some elaborate scheme? If they wanted to capture you they would have just done it while you were tied up. Either get captured or die free.”

Considering his previous disagreements with her, Peter suddenly began to feel like agreeing with Fira meant that he was in the wrong somehow.

“F-f-fine,” Occo said, dejectedly stepping towards Peter.

Finally, the discussion was over. Peter raised the stone towards Occo, and both her and Fira twitched. Within a moment, Occo disappeared inside. He would likely have to pay some fee to the guild to get the stone replaced, but perhaps he might come across one intact. 

“Are we still moving today, or are we going to set up camp?”

“We’ve likely drawn a bit of attention by now,” Lore said. “Better to keep going, we cleared the road while you were gone so everything’s ready.”

Peter nodded. Lore headed towards the front wagon and began to reattach Rena. “Kalista, help Jack up. He’s in no condition to move, so he can ride for the rest of the day.” As Jack sat down, Lore tossed some keys towards him, and Jack excitedly tried a bunch until he heard a click, and the shackles around his wrists fell off.

Placing Jack was simple. Everyone else would prove more difficult. They were down two guards, and had the addition of one primal who would be unable to keep up with them. Bryan being near Fira would likely spark conflict. Frankly, Peter was not sure he wanted to be near him either. Peter also worried about having Rin on the wagon next to Lore, another Fren might be a constant reminder of his loss.

    As Peter agonized about what to do, a gentle tap on his shoulder grabbed his attention. “Why don’t Kalista and I take turns covering the rear with Bryan, the other can help push Rin in the wheelbarrow with you and Fira in front.” Gaia’s gentle voice tickled Peter’s ear.

    “It’s a good plan, but I can push Rin. You two fought hard today, you each should get a little rest.” Gaia smiled while curling her fingers together.

The caravan soon began to move with everyone in their respective positions. As they began to pass the overturned wagon, now on the side of the road, Peter stopped and stared at it.

The remains of all the primals, both the Free Women as well as Sally and Sina. By the time he had returned with Jack, the ceremony had been over.

“I’ll protect your tamers on this journey while you’re gone,” Peter said with a small bow and a clasp of his hands. As he was about to return to pushing Rin, he stopped and looked at the remains once more, and sighed. “I hope you meet this Primal Lord of yours,” he said while bowing again.

He suddenly realized that the caravan had moved ahead without him, and he picked up the wheelbarrow and began to run.

“Blegh,” Rin barfed once more, her body rocking heavily as her hands had been clasped together, not holding the sides. As Peter avoided what must have been the last layer of food remaining in Rin’s stomach, he wondered what the outlook looked like for a Fren who suffered from motion sickness.