Two weeks later, Mylriel had become a constant shadow behind me and was beginning to play with some of the elves. She even got my father to smile and play a little with her one day. One morning, I was walking to the training grounds while watching Mylriel duck behind a pyramid of barrels with Tsarra chasing her when a guard spoke in my mind. "Faylen, we need you at the east gate. There is a human claiming that you have his daughter." I started to head over, knowing Adrion would be happy to have her in his arms again, then stopped abruptly.
"Young one," I called out to her. "I have a surprise for you. Come see." She ran to me and grabbed my hand, walking over to the gate. "Open the gates," I said as we approached. The gates swung open and there in front of them stood Adrion with the remainder of his family and a Monitingo, still talking to a guard. "Adrion," I called to him. "I have whom you seek." His gaze jerked to me and he fell to his knees as Mylriel ran to him, jumping into his arms as her mother pressed kisses to her head. "Come. I will take you to the area you will be in and you may rest from your travels." They came in and followed me through the city as I walked them to their section, surprised that the Monitingo was staying right beside him. "You may have any of these houses you choose. All from Tebury will join you over here as they arrive. Your journey was safe?"
"It was hard crossing Baste River, but we managed. Having Desmond there to help the elves and escort us to the next location was a grand idea. It'll let some of the others feel more comfortable in trusting the elves."
"Good. That was the intention. The elves, none attempted to harm anyone?"
"Not at all. Actually, the one that escorted us to the third location was rather talkative." A small smile curled my lips.
"Good. You are welcome to come into the elven area if you wish to attempt to befriend us. I know your daughter has been playing with a few of the others so she may wish to introduce you to her friends."
"Would you like that, Mylriel? Helping me and Mommy meet your friends?" Her head nodded vigorously and he chuckled. "In the morning, then. Let's spend some time together and have dinner since we haven't seen each other for almost two months." She jumped from his arms and ran over to her mother, hugging her as well as I watched the Montingo begin sniffing the doorway we'd stopped at. "Thank you for keeping her safe, Faylen," he murmured to me as Mylriel and her mother went inside with the Monitingo following them.
"It was my pleasure. I swore to keep her that way and I do no less than uphold what I have sworn."
"Still, thank you. And don't worry about Cloud, please. He'll stay in the house until Collen gets here." Mylriel came out of the house and ran up to me as I nodded.
"Thank you, Faylen," she said as she wrapped her little arms around me.
"For what, young one?"
"For taking such good care of me until my mommy and daddy got here. I've made so many friends."
"You and your family are welcome to come see them any time." I looked back up at Adrion. "I must be going. There is still much that I need to take care of. I will have the rest escorted here as they arrive." He nodded and headed inside with Mylriel as I went back to the elven area. I went to the east gate and told them where the Tebury humans would be staying. "I want someone to escort them and any Montinigos they have to their section as they arrive, but let me know when Collen Timms arrives. I will escort him there personally."
"As you command, Faylen."
"If there are any issues, reach out to me and I will come help." They nodded and I headed back to the training grounds, drawing two training swords and calling Aravae over to help me train on a new method. Over the course of the next week, a large amount of the humans from Tebury came in and were escorted to their section of the city, but no one came to the south gate. I began wondering when the people that came through Giwic Keep were going to arrive while fighting back the fear that they'd been caught.
"Faylen," Thydune said as he came in the east gate with a group tonight. "There is one final group coming behind us."
"Thank you, Thydune. You may go eat and rest. You have earned it." One of the humans looked nervously at me so I approached her. "Is everything alright? You seem uncertain of something."
"My whole life, I've been told by King Betyn that the elves are bad, but my family tells me the elves are good. I don't know who's right."
"Trust your family. We are not the enemy. Let me aid you with your things since your arms are overflowing." She let me take a couple of items out of her hands and followed me to the human section of our city. "Are you staying with your family?"
"No. They wanted me to move out and find a husband just before we left Tebury."
"Then you may have your pick of the open houses in here like everyone else. An open door means it may be selected. A closed door means it is claimed."
"Really?" I nodded and she walked into one. "May I claim this house?"
"If you would like to. If not, you may select another." She looked around for a moment then set her things down.
"I'll claim this one." I handed her things to her and she set them down.
"I have a question if you do not mind." She looked at me curiously. "Where is Collen Timms? I have not been notified of his arrival yet."
"He said he would be in the last group to leave so he shouldn't be too far back." I nodded and thanked her, then stepped out her door doing my best to ignore the Monitigos I could see down the street.
"If you wish to befriend us or learn more about the elves, you are free to come to our area. None there will harm you." She nodded but started looking around her new home.
"This is the last group, Faylen. You should know that we had to kill a couple human soldiers to get them here safely," Saevel said as he came in the east gate, two days later. "They were found wandering in the forest."
"Thank you, Saevel. Your dedication is grand and your service is admirable. Go eat and rest. You have earned it." He nodded and headed off as the last humans came through the gate.
"Where is Desmond? I did not see him return," I said as Akkar came in next to Collen and Aviryll.
"That means he did not return as he said he would. There were ten humans in the last group that he took to Jhaeros. They informed us there was one more group behind them so he said that he would bring that group all the way to Gulonde."
"He has not arrived, but the humans and Thydune did."
"Are you sure we can trust him not to leave, Faylen? He was messenger to the human king. He may be going back to him." I saw Aviryll's eyes widen and Collen placed a hand on her shoulder.
"He was a slave to the human king and would be killed if he returned to him." I turned to look out the gate, hoping to see Desmond walking in. "Collen, I will find you later to introduce you to everyone. I am going to look for him." I walked off, but Akkar grasped my arm before I got to the gate.
"Please, Faylen. Your father will be infuriated if you leave again."
"Desmond is helping us win this war. We are using his knowledge to aid in our battles and attacks. We cannot use his knowledge if he is dead. I am going to look for him and will be no longer than two weeks." I took off out the gate, slowly running down the Old Road. I ran for the first four days, looking for any sign of Desmond, but stopped that night when I smelled something odd in the air. I followed the scent off the road and saw a small fire. As quietly as I could, I drew a sword and reached out with my mind to make sure no one was behind me. Satisfied I was alone, I approached the campfire and began exploring ahead with my mind to see who was out here. The moment I connected with the only mind I found, I began hearing the person's thoughts.
Where am I? How the hell do I get back to Gulonde? Everyone probably thinks I'm running back to King Betyn and King Delsaran's probably hoping to have my head since I haven't gotten back yet. I'm in so much trouble if I ever get back.
"You mean when you get back," I said as I stepped out of the treeline and into the fire light, sheathing my sword. Desmond jumped and turned, letting a smile light his face.
"Faylen! Thank goodness!"
"Why are you off the road?" I asked, walking closer to the fire.
"I ran off the road when I saw two human soldiers coming toward me." I sat across from him before responding.
"Akkar said that you were walking a group of Tebury humans to Gulonde and no soldiers are ever on the east side of the city. How would they have been walking toward you if you were traveling from Baste River to Gulonde?"
"Jhaeros said it would be best to let Thydune walk that group to Gulonde while I returned to help the last group cross the river. I was on my way back out of the forest when I saw them. They must've seen me as well since they started running in my direction."
"Where are they now?"
"I don't know. I managed to lose them but also got myself lost since I tried to stay off the Old Road so they wouldn't discover it being used." I nodded since his excuse filled in the missing parts of why he hadn't arrived as scheduled.
"Saevel and the others killed them to get everyone to Gulonde safely. All the others are already back. How are your supplies?" I asked, motioning at his pack.
"Low, but I can possibly make it to Gulonde on what I have or less as long as I can get back to the Old Road. That also depends on how far away I am."
"Four days of running." His eyes grew in surprise and some Mauttuci skittered through the trees above us.
"I can make it to Gulonde on what I have, but if I got lost again I'd run out of food and water."
"You will not get lost again. Can you travel or do you need rest for the night?"
"I can travel." I gave a curt nod and he grabbed his pack as I smothered his fire. We turned and I led him back out to the Old Road as some Flamifoutu flew off in the direction the Mauttuci had gone.
"This way," I said, pointing to the left. He smiled and went left, following me. "I promised to return within two weeks and have been gone for almost a week already, so we must hurry back to Gulonde. We will walk tonight so I can re-gather my strength, but then we will run until we reach Gulonde. If you need to eat or drink anything, do it tonight."
"I'll do my best to keep up with you, Faylen." I nodded and we walked in silence for a bit. "I'm sorry for getting lost and that you had to come find me," Desmond murmured.
"Do not worry of that. I would rather you have avoided the soldiers and survived, than meet the soldiers and be killed on sight. If anyone is going to kill you, it will be me."
"What's to be my punishment for not returning with the others?" I could sense his fear and figured he was worried that I was going to kill him for getting lost.
"Our run is your punishment. We will not be stopping unless we have arrived or I need rest, so you will either keep up with me or you will die of exhaustion." We walked in silence for the rest of the night and as the sun rose, I began slowly running back to Gulonde. Desmond managed to keep up with me easily, surprising me with his speed and stamina. We ran for two days and nights before I slowed our pace. "Take the night to eat and drink anything needed, but we will not be stopping." He nodded and pulled his pack to his side before offering me his water pouch as a herd of Rinonapsu ran across the trail ahead of us.
"I know you didn't bring any food or water with you, and I know it took you four days of running to find me. You need to drink something, Faylen." I took the pouch and tested the weight before handing it back to him.
"You do not have much in here. You should use it for yourself. I will be fine until we return."
"You need it more than I do. Drink." I felt my lips twitch to make a small, brief smile and had a small sip from his water pouch. I held the water on my tongue for a moment and felt more strength return to my body as I swallowed the small amount of water.
"I am impressed, Desmond. You are human but yet you can keep up with me when running. No human can match elven speed and stamina, yet you can. Why is that?"
"I don't know. I'm as surprised at that as you are." He took a bite of an apple and offered me one as he took his water pouch back. I shook my head but he looked at me.
"Take it and eat, Faylen. You need to keep your strength up as well." My movements stopped and I looked at him, surprised that he'd just spoken to me in my mind. "What?" he asked as he stopped a few steps ahead of me.
"How did you do that? No human can speak with their mind without first being spoken to. That is a gift only given to elves."
"I just spoke to you with my mind? There's no way. Humans can't do that." I caught up to him but we stayed silent for the night as we thought about what he'd just been able to do.
I need to ask Father how a human would be able to talk to me with their mind without first being spoken to. There is no way he should have been able to do that. I cleared my mind as the sun rose and started running slowly again. Desmond continued to keep pace with me throughout the day and night, but was finally slowing down and falling behind the next morning. "Can you make it, Desmond? Only one more day. We will reach Gulonde by the time the sun falls for the day."
"We're that close already?" I nodded. "I'll push myself. Just give me a moment to get some water, please."
"No. It will make you sick if you run with water in your stomach. Push through the thirst and finish your punishment with your head high. Impress me and this will be the only punishment you receive." He looked at me and I could feel his desire to ask me to let him stop and rest, but I ignored it. "Come on, Desmond. You can do this. Look how far you have already come. What is one more day of running?" He nodded and picked up his pace again, but I could see the struggle he was having with himself. "Make it to the gates of Gulonde and you will impress me." I matched my pace to his but pushed him faster when he started to slow down.
"I can't, Faylen. I'm not going to make it. I need a sip of water."
"There is water at Gulonde. Make it there and you can have some."
"I have a water pouch."
"An empty water pouch. What is in there will not satisfy your thirst. Push yourself, Desmond." I could already see the top of the gates of Gulonde and wanted to keep his mind off how close we were. He pushed himself as hard as he could but ran into a tree and collapsed next to it, breathing hard and making me smile and try not to laugh as the voice of one of the guards came in my mind.
"Did he trully just run into a tree?"
"Yes. He is exhausted but trying to push himself to make it to Gulonde. We will be there soon. Do not close the gates."
"I can't make it. Please, Faylen. Just kill me or leave me to die. Please," he whispered as his chest heaved up and down with the large breaths he was taking.
"Why would I do that when you have impressed me?"
"I can't make it back to Gulonde. I can't go any further, so how have I impressed you?"
"Sit up and look." It took him a few moments, but he finally pushed himself up to sitting and looked at the gates of Gulonde that were open and waiting for us. "Now stand and walk through those gates. You have taken your punishment and can hold your head high. You matched my speed and stamina all the way through Dragon's Veil and impressed me. Stand and walk through those gates, Desmond. You will be able to rest soon." He pushed himself up to his knees and looked at me, still drawing deep breaths.
"Do you hear me, Faylen?"
"Yes."
"You're a cruel elf. Just and fair, but cruel. You could have just as easily told me that we had made it back."
"Better to let you discover your accomplishments on your own. How else would you know what you could do? Rise and go get some water." He stumbled in the gates and walked to the castle, impressing me even more that he was pushing himself to go as far as he could before allowing himself the water he so desperately desired. I heard some soft chuckling as I walked in the gates and looked back at the guards that were standing there, giving a brief smile to them as I tried to hide my own laughter at the fact that Desmond had run into the tree. "Tree Hugger has returned," I said in Faejesh, hearing their chuckling turn into soft laughter they tried to contain. The next morning, I went to the area the Tebury humans were in and began looking for Collen so I could introduce him to some of the elves. "Can I help you?" came a nervous voice from a lady that was shaking some fabric in front of a door.
"I am looking for Collen Timms. Can you direct me to him?" She pointed down the street.
"He's in the house five doors that way. On the left." I smiled at her and gave a slight nod.
"Thank you." I counted the doors on my left side as I walked down the street, stopping in front of the fifth one. Before I could knock on the door, it opened and Aviryll gave a short shriek, their Monitingo appearing beside her instantly.
"Oh my goodness! Faylen, I'm so sorry. I didn't know you were there," she said as the Monitingo bared his teeth at me.
"I just arrived so no apology is needed, Aviryll. Is Collen here? I promised to introduce him to some of the elves after I returned," I said as I backed up a step to keep some distance from the Monitingo.
"He's inside." She turned her head and called into the house for him. "Cloud, go. Were you able to find Desmond?" I nodded as Cloud disappeared, but sensed a few more watching me from various directions.
"He was lost, but it was for the better that he became that way. He was spotted by some soldiers on his way back to help the last group. The ones that Saevel and the others killed before bringing you all here."
"Well, I'm glad he's alive. Would it be alright if I went to see him today?"
"You do not need to ask me for permission. I would never deny a mother the chance to see her child. Everyone is welcome to come into the elven area, although I suggest leaving your Monitingo here. The only reason I placed you all over here is to allow willing people to attempt befriending each other. I do not want to force anyone into friendships." She nodded and stepped out the door as Collen appeared behind her. "Desmond is somewhere in the elven area right now, though I do not know exactly where. Possibly near the training grounds. He seems to enjoy watching our lessons and training routines." She chuckled but thanked me and headed off toward the elven area.
"Cloud, would you go lay down somewhere? Ah, Faylen. Is everything alright?"
"Yes. I am here to show you around the elven area and introduce you to some of the elves if you are ready."
"Oh wonderful. I was going to spare you the extra work of walking me around and just wander on my own, but you would be a great help to keep me from getting turned around," he chuckled out. I smiled as he joined me outside and closed the door before Cloud could sneak out, walking over to the elven area as we discussed how his travels were. "The journey was beautiful. Just as I thought traveling through the woods would be. Crossing the Baste River was as hard as you said it would be, but thanks to Akkar and... What was the woman's name?"
"Ashwryn."
"Ah. Thank you. Well, thanks to Akkar and Ashwryn, crossing the Baste River was made easier. Wonderful idea to put an elf many of us had already met there. It allowed more of the families to begin trusting the elves."
"I am glad. As I said in Tebury, everyone that wishes to attempt befriending us is welcome to come into the area. However, my father requested he get to meet you as well since you are seen as the leader of your people. He feels it would be wise for the leader of the elves and the leader of the Tebury humans to have some regard for the other."
"That's understandable. When will I be meeting your father?"
"King Delsaran requested to be the first that you are introduced to so we are on the way to the castle now." Collen nodded and looked around as we approached the elven area.
"This is amazing. It didn't seem very busy when we arrived but there are people everywhere during the day."
"Yes. We do as much as we can when the sun is up and if unable to sleep we work in the dark when the moon is up, but we do try to keep our night work quiet for those that are sleeping." Collen nodded but kept quiet as I walked him through the area.
"I have a question, Faylen. I noticed that there's no glass on the windows of any of the buildings. Is there a reason for that?"
"We have not been able to master making and installing glass into our buildings and have not made it a high priority since we all respect each other's private housing and enjoy the fresh air in our homes, although my people do often complain about the colder night air during Orchid season. Seeing the installed glass in your home in Tebury was the first time I had ever seen it completed. That tells me that someone in Tebury was able to master the process, so our smiths would greatly appreciate their advice, training, and even aid, but it is entirely up to them if they wish to help."
"I'll ask our smith if he would help. Orchid season is coming up soon and I want to help everyone stay warm. Before you came to Tebury, he was trying to figure out a way to create glass that would move to allow open windows, so he may like the idea of picking that back up again." I nodded as the castle door opened.
"Faylen, you are bringing another human into the castle? Your father will not be pleased," Iliphar said as he saw Collen.
"My father wants to meet this one." Iliphar nodded but watched us carefully as we passed by.
"Is there a specific way I should address your father?" Collen whispered as my father appeared at the end of the hall.
"King Delsaran," I whispered back. "Although if he holds you in high enough regard he may allow you to call him Delsaran." He nodded and knelt as my father approached him. "Father, this is Collen Timms. He is the leader of the humans from Tebury."
"You may stand. Leaders should look each other in the eye; not down at each other." Collen stood and looked my father in the eye.
"It's a pleasure and honor to meet you, King Delsaran." My father nodded but kept his silence so I reached out with my mind, trying to touch Collen's mind but feeling my father's presence.
"Father, you said you wanted to meet him. To meet a human you need to speak with them, not simply invade their thoughts." My father gave me slight glare but started talking to Collen about what the humans had been able to master and what aid we might be able to expect as Lanquar spoke to me in my mind.
"What are the intentions of these humans, Faylen?"
"They intend to give us aid however they can. They all believe in a coexistence between our races. If we can truly create and uphold this coexistence with them, we may be able to convince other humans to join us. Just this morning, I heard rumors that those in Defalls and Dorione are beginning to question the human king's reign. Whispers have even emerged which say that their loyalty to him is wavering."
"That is truly good news. I will inform King Delsaran of these rumors and whispers after this meeting. Hopefully he begins to hope in a coexistence again."
"Thank you. Anything you can do to increase his hope and trust is most appreciated. He does not listen to me on the matter that we must continue to hope and trust."
"I will do what I can, Faylen. If possible, can the young one return to the castle at some point as a surprise for your father? He has been asking how she is adjusting to life here."
"That tells me that some of his joy is returning which is grand news to me. I will see if her father will allow her to visit."
"I am glad I took the time to meet you," my father said.
"Likewise, King Delsaran. If there is anything you need our aid with, please let me know. If it's in our ability to help, I'll send the most accomplished to do so." My father gave a curt nod and I walked Collen out of the castle and headed toward our smiths, introducing him to some others on the way. A Monitingo appeared at his side as we were headed to the health stores and he sighed.
"I'm sorry, Faylen. I've got no idea how he got out of the house." I saw a few weary looks from elves as we passed by and told them in their minds to remain calm and all would be fine.
"It is alright, Collen. He will stay beside you, correct?"
"Yes. He'll stay beside me and won't attack anyone unless they attack me first. That was proven to me a long time ago." I nodded.
"Perhaps we could fashion some sort of ropes for your people to keep their Monitingo on so they may come with and be under physical control when your people are befriending or working with us. I will speak with some of our smiths to see if this is possible." He nodded and kept a hand on Cloud the rest of the way around the elven area. Never once did Cloud attempt to attack any of my people, but he did pin his ears back at a few of the soldiers when they came toward us. As we got to the food stores, a Mauttuci jumped off the roof and into one of the barrels, popping back up with some corn in its front paws as Cloud's ears pricked up. "Where are the Flamifoutu today?" I muttered, not seeing any flying around the city.
"Cloud loves chasing them. May I? It would help get the Silver-tailed Darter out of the food stores." I motioned at him to go ahead, but was wondering how he would get him back under control. "Go catch it," he said as he took his hand off Cloud's head. Cloud took off toward the Mauttuci and I heard a loud squeak as the corn dropped from its paws and it ran across the ground toward the city wall. The Mauttuci ran to the wall and jumped off it, doubling back to the food stores with Cloud right behind it and matching its every move. A few of the elves came up beside me and watched in silence, but one spoke to me in my mind.
"Are you sure this was wise, Faylen? He has no control on this Monitingo now."
"Remain calm and we will see what happens when he is called to return." The Mauttuci bounced off the wall of the food stores and went to double back to the city wall again, but Cloud caught it in his mouth as it landed from the wall, filling the air with its squeaks.
"Bring it here!" Collen called out. The Monitingo kept the squeaking Mauttuci in its mouth and came trotting over to our little gathering with his tail wagging. "Would you like him to drop it outside the city walls or do you mind him having it as a treat for his hard work?" Collen asked as he looked at me.
"He may have it as a reward for his work." Cloud sat in front of Collen, laying down and giving the Mauttuci a hard chomp to end its squeaking when Collen told him to enjoy his treat. "Are all the Monitingos from Tebury this well behaved?" I asked, doing my best to ignore Cloud as the others left cringing at his snack.
"I wish they were. Cloud is the best behaved Quetzal Jackal from Tebury, but he's also the oldest at seven years. The others are only three years old and listen when they want." I nodded.
"And do Monitingos eat Flamifoutu?" I asked as a thought occured to me.
"I'm not sure which species that is, Faylen."
"Desmond told me before that he grew up knowing them called..." I searched my mind as hard as I could, finally remembing what he'd called the bird. "Ah. He said they were called Xanadu Cassowary," I said after a minute.
"Oh, them. Flamifoutu. That's an interesting name for them. I've seen Quetzal Jackals eat everything from Silver-tailed Darters," he said motioning at the Mauttuci that Cloud was chewing on, "to False Angelfish and Wisteria Quails. The only creature I know them to have trouble with is the Greywolf Hound. They only win about half the time when one-on-one with them."
"False Angelfish?" I asked, completely confused on what that was.
"I bet we have different names for every creature in the world," he chuckled out. I nodded. "The False Angelfish stinks when it comes out of the water."
"Oh, we know them as Pegaraksea," I said, instantly knowing what creature he was talking about now. He nodded. "What is the Wisteria Quail?"
"It's the bird that has the furry looking tail."
"Oh, the Kukawk."
"And the Greywolf Hound is the bear-like creature that eats everything. As far as I know, it's not found on the west side of Baste River in the forest, but it's found on the east side of Baste River."
"You must be talking about the Canibu with that name. That is the only creature I know of that eats anything it can get its mouth on."
"That'd be it," he said with a nod. "You and I need to sit down sometime and go over all the different names for creatures between our people. It might make things easier," he said with another chuckle. Cloud licked his paws and mouth as he looked up at Collen, still wagging his tail. "Hope you enjoyed that, boy. Don't get used to it."
Since Monitingos eat Flamifoutu, that may be why there's none in the city today. "I may have a proposition for you that will allow Cloud to have all of the Mauttuci he wants, but I need a few days to see if my thought is correct."
"Mauttuci?" he asked, sounding completely confused.
"What you called the Silver-tailed Darter." He nodded in understanding.
"What kind of proposition are you thinking of, Faylen?"
"Normally, there are Flamifoutu flying around in the city and keeping the Mauttuci out of the food stores, but there have been less Flamifoutu here since the Monitingos began arriving, and none at all today. I would prefer not to lose half of our food supplies to Mauttuci, so if you are over here, Cloud is more than welcome to get as many as he can. Even at night. However, the Kukawks also catch them at night, so there would be more competition for him. The only thing I will request if we do this is that you are here keeping an eye on Cloud and keeping him under control. The elves that were here were questioning my mentality when you had him go catch that one." He nodded.
"Why don't we give it a day or two to see if the Xanadu Cassowarys will come back. If they don't, I'll gladly bring Cloud over to let him chase the Silver-tailed Darters out of the food stores. Does that sound good?"
"Yes. We have enough food to safely lose some for a day or two, but that's all we could afford."
"Then it's settled. If the Xanadu Cassowary's aren't back in two days, I'll bring Cloud over to get rid of the Silver-tailed Darters." He patted his leg and Cloud sat up, licking his hand before sticking his nose closer to my hand and sniffing it. I looked at Collen and he smiled. "Put your palm up and let him sniff. I'm right here and he won't hurt you, Faylen." I turned my hand over as Collen put a hand under mine, letting Cloud sniff it. After a few minutes, he took a step closer and sniffed at my feet before letting out a low growl. "Cool it, Cloud," Collen said as I felt my body want to start trembling. Cloud growled again, but wasn't sniffing my feet anymore and Collen followed his gaze to something behind me. "You're fine, Faylen. There's something behind you that he doesn't like. He's not growling at you. Take a couple steps closer to my side." I did as he said and Cloud lifted his head, pulling himself to his full height while I turned to the side to see what the problem was. The gates were open, but I couldn't see anything outside of them that would be a cause for worry. "Let's go check it out. See what he's growling about. He's never been this bad." I nodded and we headed over to the south gate.
Cloud's growling got louder and more persistent as we got closer, but I still couldn't see anything out there. "Have you seen anything that could mean danger?" I asked Ilyana in her mind.
"Just the Monitingo next to you." I nodded then reached out into the forest with my mind, jerking back to my senses after less than a minute. "Come inside now and close the gate. Hurry! Collen, get Cloud to back up. Leave the guards room to come in." They came in as Collen pulled Cloud back a few feet and closed the gate just as a loud roar came from the forest, followed by something thundering and crashing through the bushes as the gates closed.
"What in the world was that?" Collen asked.
"A Canibu. I do not understand why it is here. They have never ranged to this part of the forest." I ran up onto the wall and grabbed a bow with a bucket of arrrows and starting firing down on the creature as it crashed out of the woods and smashed into the gate. "All soldiers to the wall now!" I hollered with my mind. Within minutes, I was surrounded by soldiers, all firing at the Canibu. It fell as the twentieth arrow pierced its hide. "Thydune, Akkar, and Jhaeros with me. The rest of you keep trained on it. If it moves, shoot it." The four of us came back down the wall and went to the gate, Desmond appearing as we reached the gate.
"I heard the call for your soldiers, Faylen. I figured you could use your swords." I took one and headed out the gate when Jhaeros and Akkar had it opened. Cautiously approaching the Canibu, I was overwhelmed at the sheer size of it. I'd never seen one so big and looked back over at Cloud wondering how he'd sensed it there when we hadn't. Collen walked toward me with Cloud right beside him, but pointed to me and said something quietly as he stopped just inside the gate. Cloud came over with his teeth bared, the hair around his neck and on his back standing straight up, and he was still growling. He sniffed the Canibu for a moment then came and sat next to me, just looking up at me.
"It's dead. He wouldn't sit if it wasn't safe," Collen said as he came up to us with Desmond next to him.
"This is the biggest one I've ever seen," Desmond said. "They don't live west of the Baste River in Dragon's Veil. Only east of the river. What's it doing over here?"
"I want to know how it got so big," Collen said as he patted Cloud on the head.
"I want to know how it was strong enough to require 20 arrows to bring it down," I said to Thydune. As Akkar and Jhaeros started pulling arrows from its hide, Thydune ran toward the healing rooms, coming back moments later with Adrella following him.
"I need a small piece of its meat and hide," she said. I slammed my sword on its paw, severing it from the rest of the body and looked at her.
"Will that be enough?" She nodded, but didn't look like she wanted to touch it. "Desmond, go help Adrella and Tsarra however you can with this." He nodded and grabbed the paw, following Adrella to the healing rooms. "Let us get this inside and prepared for the food stores. If the meat is foul, we will dispose of it then, but the hide will be useful either way." Collen took my sword as I grabbed the pawless leg, jumping when Cloud licked my hand.
"They're highly intelligent. If he did good, tell him," Collen said.
"How do I tell him that? Is there a certain phrase I should say?"
"Just say he's a good boy. He'll be happy with that." I looked at Cloud again and could feel everyone's eyes on us as I heard a bow get drawn.
"Good boy." His tail wagged and he licked my hand again. "If the meat is safe to eat, I will give you some as a reward." He licked my hand a couple more times and went trotting back to Collen, sitting beside him as I heard the tension on the bow slowly release. "I do not understand. Elves and Monitingos avoid each other. Cloud did not stop watching me when I was in Tebury, but here he protected my people from the largest Canibu I have ever seen."
"He protected you, Faylen," Collen said as Thydune, Akkar, and Jhaeros grabbed the other legs to help me drag the beast in. We stopped just inside the gate as Ishwaryn came up to carve up the meat for easier storage.
"What do you mean?" I asked quietly as I walked toward him. He'd gone out closer to the forest's edge but was looking back into the city with broken bushes all over the ground behind him from where the Canibu had come out of the forest.
"That one would have gotten past your guards at the gate and been running right at you." I turned to see what he meant, and drew in a deep breath as I realized that he was right. We were standing directly in the path of the food stores. "You let him have fun chasing the Silver-tailed Darter and let him have it as a snack, so he protected you. He was thanking you for letting him do what he does best." We walked back in the city and I tied the sword sheaths around my waist, sheathing the one I'd used. Over the next two hours, the meat and hide were carved off the creature and prepared for storage. Desmond came up to me just as the last of it was being placed in the food stores and said that it was fine to eat, so I grabbed a piece and went back over to Collen and Cloud who were still near the carcass.
"Adrella is still trying to discover why it was so big, though. She said she'll find you as soon as she knows something." I nodded.
"As promised," I said, handing the slab of meat to Cloud. He gently took it out of my hand and laid down at Collen's feet, licking the meat a couple times before biting one side of it and trying to tear pieces off as he noisily chewed on it. Ishwaryn was still there as well, so I looked at him. "Adrella and Tsarra said the meat is safe to eat. Thank you for preparing it."
"So you are feeding it to a Monitingo?"
"The Monitingo earned that piece. If it had not been for him, this Canibu would have attacked me in the city. Is there anything you can use the bones for?"
"The sauce for stews and broths, but the bone is still intact afterward and has no use so I have to throw it away." I turned to face Collen.
"Can Monitingos eat bones or is it harmful to them?"
"They can eat the bones." I nodded.
"We will help you take these bones to the kitchens. Make all the broths and stew sauces you can from them, then they go to the Monitingos in the human area. I would rather none of this creature go to waste and if Monitingos can eat the bones, there is no waste." Ishwaryn nodded and Desmond and I grabbed as many bones as we could, following him to the kitchens and setting them where he wanted.
"I will work through the night to get the liquids made as quickly as possible. All the bones should be done tomorrow as the sun falls to the wall."
"We will return then to collect them for the Monitingos. Thank you." He nodded and started setting pots on the fire, adding water, spices, and bones as we went to get more bones from the carcass.
"Your cook is talented at carving meat off a bone. I've never seen such precise cuts that close to bone," Collen said as we grabbed the last of the bones. "Do you think he could teach our cooks some?"
"He is the teacher for all our cooks so there should be no problems with him teaching your cooks as well as they will be able to aid him if needed." He nodded. "The bones should be finished when the sun falls to the wall tomorrow. I will ensure they are brought over the moment they are finished."
"I'll meet you at the edge of the human area. I know you trust Cloud a bit more than any other Quetzal Jackal right now, but if you bring a bag of bone treats into the area, you'll be surrounded by Quetzal Jackals that aren't as well behaved as him." I nodded and headed off with Desmond, setting the last of the bones on the stack before heading back out to Collen. Cloud was already halfway done with the piece of meat I'd given him and was still wagging his tail as he chewed on it. A loud screech came from the forest and I looked up as Collen turned around.
"That's a Flamifoutu," I said as I reached Collen. "Perhaps their absence was a sign of the Canibu that was in the area. Either way, we will learn the truth in two days. If they return, there will be no need for Cloud to chase the Mauttuci. He will be welcome to if you are with him, but there will be no need."
"I'm sure he wouldn't mind chasing them anyway." Collen turned and looked at Cloud who was picking the last piece off the ground and chewing it. "He liked that. Not often in his life has he had Greywolf Hound meat. Especially none that fresh since I'm too old to go hunting for it." I gave a brief smile and looked at Cloud as he sat up again, still licking his mouth. He still had red on his paws and legs, but didn't seem to mind. "Well, we're going to head home. Aviryll's probably got dinner going and is going to be worried about that loud roar."
"Enjoy your night, Collen. A few of us will be working late into the night so I am sorry of any noise that disturbs your people." He nodded and smiled as I knelt down in front of Cloud, looking him right in the eyes. "Thank you. You saved me today and I will not forget it." He licked my face, then licked my hands clean and trotted off next to Collen as I stood and went to the training grounds to clean and put away my swords.
