soergel-brad

[soergel-brad]

Lillim

The progenitor of all living things, Lillim is known as “The Mother.” She is known to different races as representative of different things, but is always the god relating to life, birth, good fortune, compassion, and peace.

Unlike Nihilen, Lillim is portrayed virtually the same across all races and cultures, as a slender human female with light brown skin and shoulder length black hair, wearing a long, earthen green robe.

The origin of the god is a matter of debate between cultures. Humans believe that Lillim has existed since time immemorial, creating everything that has been, that is, and that ever will be. The carved view Lillim as a sculptor of sorts. Most carved do not believe that Lillim created life, but possesses the ability to steer the evolution of a species. Due to their stigma as lesser beings, carved do not hold Lillim in such high esteem as humans do. Hyliotil religion teaches that Lillim is not their true creator, but the one that birthed their god, Itoh.

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Nihilen

Nihilen is regarded in the standard pantheon as the god of death, conflict, misfortune and oblivion.

The fine details of the god vary from culture to culture. Hyliotil depictions of Nihilen show it as a large, broad chested human male skeleton, adorned with a mantle of vibrant feathers on its shoulders. Carved and human depictions resemble the blackened skeleton of a Hyliotil, being much taller and more slender, with a skull resembling a parrot with a large black beak. What remains constant about the god is that it is depicted as a skeletal figure wearing tattered rags with tarnished, patchwork armor plate and a broken, bloodstained glass sword.

Nihilen’s origins vary as much as his appearance.

To humans, he is the jealous brother of Lillim. He once assumed a form similar to hers; that of  a slim, dark skinned human male, but grew spiteful and envious of his sister’s ability to create. This rage twisted his body, burning away his flesh and charring his bones. While ancient records indicate that he originally bore a human skeleton, scholars have noted that his appearance has become more and more like the Hyliotil over the last few centuries. 

The carved did not have a concept of a god of death until recently, believing that anything that dies returns to the land, only to be created again. Most carved are content to agree with the human’s view of the god though, and are wont to blame the Hyliotil for much of their suffering.

Hyliotil see Nihilen as another creation of Lillim, as without its inevitable end, life would hold no meaning. Many Hyliotil emphasize the god’s human form, as they believe that humans were first to live, as well as the first to kill.

[soergel-brad]

The Carved

The Carved are a humanoid race thought to be descended from stone. The most well known tale of their origins recounts the goddess Lillim surveying the world. Seeing the desolate mountainside, she breathed life into the very stone of the land. In reality, the carved are descended from reptiles. 

The Carved are slightly taller and more stout than humans, with angular features. The race received their name from their appearance; the first humans to see them mistook them for demons carved from stone.

Carved bodies are covered in large, thick, dull scales that are usually a dark grey or brown color. They have large eyes with vertically slit pupils, often a shade of yellow or green. Rarely, a Carved will be born with white scales and red eyes. Those unfortunate ones are almost always exiled from their community. Carved have strong prehensile tails and large, four fingered hands and feet, making very fine motor controls more difficult than in humans. Sexual dimorphism in carved is subtle; males are slightly stockier and more often than not have darker colored scales, while there is practically no difference in their average height.

Carved society is well structured and militaristic. Living mostly in cold, arid mountains, the carved have had to adopt a strict hierarchy. Carved community runs on a caste system, where each leader, known as the “Anchor,” rules with nearly unquestioned power. Anchor is chosen at the start of each warm season by a majority vote of the adult population, and previous Anchors may be chosen for any number of years. The Anchor chooses a group of ten males and ten females to serve as the “Foundation.” This group decides nearly all the laws and regulations of the community. In the end, the Anchor has the final say in all matters. When a new Anchor is chosen, the previous Anchor and Foundation are held accountable for the actions they committed, incentivizing them to look out for the welfare of the community. Basic rights to life, freedom, and equality are standard laws that fall in line with traditional Carved religion.

[soergel-brad]

Here's a link to my first write up of my new article "Colors," now featured directly on the Talefeather website!

This time I'm talking all about Final Fantasy VII.

[soergel-brad]

Caverns of Gold

The following story is featured in volume VIII of the digital magazine “The Talefeather.”

        Colman, Eminne, Lipapa, and Klynbhar descended the cavernous path cautiously.

“I am unsure of this, Colman; I’ve heard monstrous tales of a place such as this.” Lipapa said as her eyes scanned the dark stone walls.

Colman smirked as he walked alongside the three, a spring in his step. “Worry not friends! I have it on good authority that within this hillside lies an endless supply of mythril, gold, and better yet, adventure!”

“Look ahead, something lights the way!” Eminne said as she pointed into the distance.

Before them, the path twisted to their right, an eerie yellow light illuminated the walls. As they turned the corner, they were greeted by a large, golden cavern. Luminescent pools of gold liquid rested in the valleys of the floor, plants and vines covered the walls, and yellow mist sporadically spewed forth from cracks in the rock. What caught their eyes most were the beasts that roamed aimlessly thoughout the cavern.

“Seven hells, look at the size of that toad!” Klynbhar shouted.

Immediately the beast turned to the four, its bulbous eyes fixed on Klynbhar. A long slender tongue erupted from the toad’s mouth and shot toward him. Reflexively, he crouched to the ground as the tongue speared the air directly above him. The other three looked on in shock as they jumped back. Klynbhar scrambled backwards around the corner and the rest followed.

“I’m beginning to agree with Lipapa, this doesn’t seem worth the trouble.” Klynbhar said as he began to stand and dust himself off.

Colman shook his head. “Nonsense! We just needs be more cautious. Such a large beast must be easy to evade. Surely we just wait for him to return to his...”

Just then the toad’s bulk appeared next to them. It tried to crawl towards them, unable to fit through the cavern path. It furiously flung its tongue at them, trying to pull them into its mouth.

The four of them screamed and ran back up the path, out of the reach of the monster’s tongue.

“I believe the gods are trying to tell us to venture no further.” Lipapa said as she caught her breath.

Klynbhar nodded at the lalafell, and Eminne looked to Colman, who stood defiantly.

“Friends, we cannot allow a lone beast to keep us from such riches and glory!”

Colman wielded his axe, turned towards the beast, and charged. Lifting his weapon into the air, he bellowed a furious shout, only to be promptly grasped by the tongue of the toad. In a split second, he was swallowed by the beast.

The three stood silently and looked at each other, mouths agape. A moment later, they all unsheathed their weapons and charged towards the giant toad.

Eminne took aim and loosed arrows, trying her best to hit vital areas. Klynbhar furiously pummeled the head of the beast, while Lipapa conjured stones to hurl at it. Soon after, the toad was felled, its carcass plugging the cavern entrance.

“Colman!” the three shouted as they pried the toad’s mouth open. They saw no sign of the warrior, but heard muffled shouts.

“What in the bloody hells are we to do now?” Klynbhar said as he looked at the two.

Eminne unsheathed a knife from her belt. “I suppose we have to cut him out.”

The three looked at the knife, none of them eager to grab it. A moment later, Klynbhar furrowed his brow and grasped the knife from Eminne’s hand. As he hesitantly drew the knife up to the belly of the beast, it began to rumble.

They all took a step back and watched Colman’s hand erupt from the gullet of the monster. Eminne grasped it and began to pull, with Klynbhar aiding her once he realized what was happening. After a few tugs, Colman was free of the beast, gasping for air as he rolled on to his back, covered in a thick, clear slime.

Lipapa rushed to his side and began casting healing magicks on him as he sat up. Colman looked to the others and smiled.

“How exciting was that? I bet that none of those bastards drinking their days away in the Carline Canopy can say they’ve fought such a monster!”

Eminne smiled while Klynbhar and Lipapa gave Colman worried looks.

“Mate, you were just eaten.” Klynbhar said.

Colman shook his head and chuckled. “I had no doubt in my mind that you would come to my aid! Besides, I could have carved my way out of the beast if need be.” He stood up and stretched his legs. “Now, let’s shove this thing out of the way so we can get to the riches inside!”

Colman and Eminne began to ineffectually push the toad, trying to clear a path into the cavern; Klynbhar and Lipapa stood by silently.

Colman turned to the roegadyn and lalafell. “Come now, give us a hand.”

Lipapa gave Colman an apologetic look. “I think we should turn back, Colman.”

Colman beamed at her. “Lipapa, the worst of it is behind us! Clearly no monster could rival the one we just fought. And right behind this carcass is a fortune, just waiting for us!”

The two looked unconvinced, so Colman continued. “If we find nothing of value in the next room, I will gladly guide us all back to the surface. I’ll even buy a round of drinks for the trouble.”

Lipapa and Klynbhar reluctantly agreed and helped to push the beast out of the way. Unfortunately, they weren’t able to move it, only to lift it enough to narrowly squeeze through the path.

Once again they surveyed the giant cavern, sure to be much quieter this time.

Eminne approached a pool of the golden liquid. “It smells quite foul. I don’t believe this is truly gold.”

Colman chuckled. “Of course it isn’t actually molten gold! But have you ever seen such a substance? Certainly it must be worth its weight in the real stuff.”

Colman pulled a jar out of his sack and unstoppered it. He dipped it into the pool of noxious liquid and sealed it shut. A moment later he dropped the jar as he winced in pain. His bare fingers burned fiercely as the liquid began to sear his flesh. The jar shattered on the hard stone, and liquid splashed all over him, singeing any piece of exposed flesh.

“Ow, ow, ow.” Colman grunted as he hopped up and down. “Lipapa, could you come here a moment?”

“Perhaps you should come over here.” Lipapa said as she, Klynbhar and Eminne began to back towards the entrance.

Colman turned the direction the others were facing, towards the interior of the cavern. The sound of the jar shattering had alerted nearly a dozen creatures. The four turned to the exit, only to see the giant toad they thought dead pulling its head out of the pathway and turning to them.

As it unleashed a guttural croak, the four screamed and ran. They all sprinted into the main chamber of the cavern, weaving around the monsters as best they could. Klynbhar tried punching any that were in reach, and Eminne loosed a volley of arrows meant to slow the beasts. The toad croaked as it plowed over some of the monsters, eagerly trying to reach the adventurers. As they approached the next chamber, the toad began to lash its tongue out wildly.

Just as Colman ran through the opening to the next room, the toad’s tongue shot past his head, missing it by ilms. It crashed into the wall of the cavern, loosing a boulder. This caused a partial cave in, and the adventurers scurried away from the avalanche as fast as they could.

Once the boulders finished falling, the four stopped to catch their breath. The path they had come from was now blocked off, sealed by a mountain of rubble.

Lipapa healed the others’ wounds as Klynbhar and Colman argued.

“Thal’s balls! I can’t believe I let you drag me into a shiteheap like this.” Klynbhar said as he looked for an opening in the pile of stone.

“While I admit that this wasn’t ideal, surely you’ve never felt so alive! This is the kind of adventure that makes the history books!”

“The only history book you’ll make it into is ‘the History of Idiotic Bastards.’”

Eminne tapped Colman on the shoulder. “Mayhap we should discuss this later?” She pointed towards the center of the chamber.

This room looked much like the last, pools of noxious gas and liquid, root systems and overgrowth. No creature inhabited the room, aside from one; a giant plant monstrosity that lumbered around on four stumps and had two enormous whip-like appendages.

The group immediately fell silent as they spotted the beast. Looking around, Lipapa found an exit to the right side of the room. She pointed towards the opening, and the group slowly snuck out of the room by hugging the wall and remaining as quiet as possible.

The next room was a much narrower path. The overgrowth became thicker and more puddles of gold dotted the floor. Inside the room was a great hulking beast made of naught but vines and teeth, a few miniature versions of the monster, and some strange green pods made up of vines.

“Seven hells, is that a morbol?” Klynbhar asked, astonished.

Eminne’s eyes lit up as she gasped. “Morbols! I love morbols!”

She broke off from the group and sprinted towards the morbol seedlings, arms outstretched. When she reached one, she hugged it tightly.

The mob of seedlings approached her, mouths drooling. Colman and the others ran to Eminne’s side and began to pull her away.

“But they are just little babies! I just want to pet them!” She yelled as one of the seedlings began gnawing on her arm.

“Dear, these morbols aren’t the tame ones you’d see at the chocobo track.” Lipapa said as she drew her staff.

Despite their efforts, the group was nearly engulfed in tiny morbols. Worse yet, the adult at the far end of the room approached as well. The group hacked and slashed their way free as best they could. Punches flew, axe swung, vines whipped, and plenty of bad breath was belched. Eminne even reluctantly fired some arrows. In the end, the group narrowly managed to crawl their way free of the heap of morbols.

The next room was a much larger chamber with a high ceiling. Unlike the previous rooms, this one had nearly no vegetation in it. In the center stood a monster who at first blush might be confused with a giant man. The thing had the frame of a normal man, but nearly quadruple in size. It carried a giant club in its right hand and stood on two legs that ended in hooves. The most noteworthy feature of it was the single, gigantic eye that occupied nearly its entire head.

Lipapa glanced off to the continuing path to the right of the cyclops. “Mayhaps we can sneak by it if we just move…”

Before she could finish her sentence, the cyclops spotted them and began charging, club raised.

They all scattered in different directions, each readying their weapon. Colman began to hack at the leg of the beast, unable to pierce its thick hide. Klynbhar worked at the monster’s stomach, trying his best subdue it. Eminne tried to hobble it by aiming for its calves, and Lipapa conjured cutting winds on the cyclops.

Unfazed by the onslaught, the beast swung his club across Colman’s side. Colman flew like a doll across the room, and crumpled in a heap. Lipapa ran to him and began to cast her most potent magicks, when the cyclops charged toward her.

Klynbhar and Eminne furiously attacked, trying to pull attention away from the others. With a swift, ferocious kick, Klynbhar managed to bring the cyclops to its knee. He then spun around and kicked the back of the monster’s hand, forcing it to release its club.

It then turned silently to the monk and archer, its one giant eye glowing. A moment later the air around them began to crackle, and light gathered around the head of the beast.

“Shite! Run, Eminne!” Klynbhar shouted as he sprinted away.

Eminne followed suit as a giant beam of light erupted from the creature’s eye. It scorched a path across the stone as the cyclops moved its head.

By now, Colman was up on his feet and charging back into the fray. He swung his axe into the side of its chest, cleaving right into its ribs.

The monster winced, then turned its eye to Colman. Colman freed his axe just in time to avoid the searing beam. In a rage, the cyclops continued to fire beams of light at the party, trying its best to burn them into oblivion. Klynbhar and Colman argued as they ran in circles, narrowly dodging the beams.

“You little blackguard! If we get out of here alive, I’m going to punch your moronic head right off your shoulders!”

“Oh Klynbhar, you won’t have such a sharp tongue once we each have enough money buy up a nice hefty plot of land in Costa del Sol!”

For the next few minutes, they all continued to run, dodge and argue, until Eminne got a clear shot on the cyclops’ eye. She fired a bolt directly into it, and the beast fell to its knees. Blinded, it began crawling around on the cavern floor, grasping for the adventurers.

The group took the opportunity to sneak away through the path on the right. Once they were satisfied with the distance, they caught their breath.

“Adventure! Isn’t this what we live for, friends?” Colman said to the three, with a great grin on his face.

They looked to him, returning none of the enthusiasm.

“Well, come now. If I remember correctly, I was told that just down this path is a vein of mythril so large that you could build an even newer Gridania with the profits.”

The four trudged on down the path, encountering a horde of monstrous diremites. Without much trouble, they were able to dispose of the vilekin, and continued on to a large chamber much like the ones at the beginning of the cavern.

Inside sat the largest morbol any of them had ever seen.

“Oh thank the gods. Look there.” Lipapa said as she pointed past the morbol.

A sliver of white light, presumably from the surface, shone down on the cavern floor.

“I suppose we have to get through that thing to get out of here.” Klynbhar said as he readied his brass knuckles.

“Menphina be praised! It’s the most beautiful creature I’ve ever seen!” Eminne said excitedly. “We needs not harm such a creature, it is too adorable to fight.”

Klynbhar lowered his fists and looked to Eminne. “Much as I would love to part company with it amicably, we both know morbols aren’t the friendliest type.”

Colman had other ideas, as he immediately charged forward, axe at the ready.

“The history books, friends! Adventure!” he screamed as he swung his axe savagely at the morbol.

The axe found purchase in the creature’s trunk, the plant’s inner liquids streaming from the wound. The beast roared in response, shaking violently as spores floated off its body.

Their attention drawn by the sheer size of the morbol, the group failed to notice the many pods that populated the cavern floor, much like in the other room. The spores fell onto the pods, causing them to split open, revealing dozens of morbol seedlings.

Utter chaos ensued. Waves of seedlings piled on the adventurers, biting and whipping them. The group struggled free slowly as the giant morbol in the center inhaled a deep breath. A moment later it belched a putrid gas on the party, hitting all but Colman, who was busy sparring with the morbol’s tentacles. The three crawled on their hands and knees, retching as they tried to escape the onslaught.

Colman ran to their sides and cut a swath through the seedlings, allowing them some time to distance themselves from the mob. They immediately began to climb the cavern walls, coughing and groaning as they went. Like a beast unchained, Colman furiously swung at the morbol and its spawn, keeping them at bay long enough for the others to escape. Once the path was opened, he climbed up the wall as fast as he could, narrowly avoiding a wave of bad breath.

Back on the surface, the group rested in the snow. Eminne and Klynbhar writhed in agony as Lipapa hurriedly cast cleansing magicks on herself. Once she was able, she cleansed the other two.

“Wasn’t that quite the journey? We’ll surely have stories to tell for years to come thanks to it!” Colman said after taking a deep breath of fresh air.

Klynbhar rolled over onto his side, facing Colman. “Mate, count yourself lucky that I’m ready to vomit my guts out, because if I could get my hands around your neck, I’d wring it until your head popped off.”

Colman laughed. “I know you’re upset with me now, but once we all get back to safety of the Canopy, have a round of nice, cold drinks – my treat, mind you – we’ll all look back on this with fond memories.”

Lipapa walked up to Colman. “Could you sit for a moment; I need to inspect your wounds.”

“I am barely scathed, Lipapa, but if you insist.” Colman said as he took a seat in the snow.

Lipapa promptly grasped her staff and began to beat Colman over the head.

“You irresponsible bastard! Do you know how many times we almost died in there? That was without a doubt, the single worst experience of my entire life! I would never wish such a journey on my worst enemy! Your charades have single-handedly shaken my faith in the gods. What cruel and malicious deity would create such a hellscape? What bitter and sadistic creator would allow such a terrible place to exist?”

Lipapa continued her tirade as she wailed on Colman’s head. Eventually Eminne and Klynbhar pulled her away and she began to calm down.

Klynbhar put a hand on Lipapa’s shoulder. “Now, now, Lipapa. Colman has promised us adventure, fortune, and a round of drinks. He’s made good on his promise of adventure; it would be a shame if he didn’t live to deliver on the other two.”

The three slowly approached Colman as he began to back away hesitantly.

“I’m sorry friends, but I’m afraid all I can offer are the drinks. It seems I’ve spent the last of my funds purchasing the equipment for this journey.” Colman patted himself down looking for anything of value on his person. “Perhaps you could all do with some empty jars? Haversacks? Flint?”

Colman made an about face and sprinted towards the path to Camp Dragonhead. Eminne, Klynbhar, and Lipapa followed suit, screaming obscenities and insults along the way.

[soergel-brad]

All You Hold Dear

The following story is featured in volume VII of the digital magazine “The Talefeather.”

Askold Storme grabbed Segoh’a by the neck and pulled him ilms away from his face. “You’re short again, kitty.”

“We have nothing left to spare, you demand too much of us.” Segoh’a said through clenched teeth.

Smiling, Askold slapped Segoh’a on the cheek, then threw him to ground. The crowd of villagers around them murmured uncomfortably as Askold addressed Segoh’a. “You seem to misunderstand our agreement. You don’t spare anything. Hells, you don’t own anything anymore. This whole village here? You’re allowed to live here because I am kind enough to allow you.”

Laneh rushed to her father’s side and helped him to his feet. His throat was red with the imprint of Askold’s hand. She wanted nothing more than to claw Askold’s eyes out, but knew she wouldn’t live long enough to finish him off.

Askold stared at Laneh for a long moment, his eyes moving across her figure. “How about we strike a deal? I take your pretty little daughter home with me, and I forget about all the things you and your pissant village owe me?”

Laneh bared her fangs as Segoh’a pushed her behind him, separating Askold from her. “We will get you your gil and supplies, but you will never touch my daughter.”

Laneh’s mother, Yano, pulled her away from Askold and the other bandits, back into the crowd of villagers.

Askold scoffed and smirked, then punched Segoh’a in the nose. Segoh’a grunted in pain as blood ran down his face. He clutched his nose and looked at Askold with nothing but disdain.

Askold spat on Segoh’a’s face and said, “What don’t you understand about this? You don’t tell me what I will and won’t do. Quite the opposite, friend.” He walked a small circle around the bloodied Miqo’te as he continued. “So here is what you’re going to do. You’re going to farm, trade, scrounge, and beg for the money we’re owed. And if I come back and you’re short even one gil, I’m going to cut my losses on this shiteheap of a town, and burn it all to the ground.

The bandits grabbed the sacks of gil, food, and clothing, mounted their chocobos, and rode away.

Yano helped Segoh’a to his feet as Laneh grabbed a cloth to staunch the blood flow.

Holding the cloth to his nose, Segoh’a turned towards Yano. “What are we to do, Yano? Those blackguards have taken nearly everything from us.”

Voices rose in agreement from the crowd. Yano lifted a hand to quiet them as she spoke. “We will give them what they desire. To refuse would doom us all. Laneh, I want you and Ohteh’sae to gather what few supplies we have left, we need to carefully ration if we are to survive the coming days.”

Laneh and Ohteh’sae left for the supply hut as Yano told the rest of her clan to return to their homes.

The door to the hut creaked as it opened, revealing a paltry amount of food. Laneh grabbed a sack of dried fish and the few eggs left to them as she spoke. “We have to do something Ohteh’sae. My father is right. If this keeps up, we’ll starve.”

“Yes, but you’ve seen their numbers, their weapons. Surely we cannot fight them.” Ohteh’sae picked up the remaining supplies, some popotos and a large sack of wheat. “And besides, it is not for us to decide.”

The two carried the food to Laneh’s home, where Yano carefully separated what was left into small meals, which she gave to the head of each family. After she was satisfied, Yano pulled Laneh and Ohteh’sae aside.

“These rations will last us naught but a week. I take no joy in this, but I require you two to join the hunt tonight.”

Laneh furrowed her brow and gritted her teeth. “Mother, we shouldn’t let those men grow fat off our hardship! We need to stand against them.”

“Laneh, know your place!” Segoh’a said as he sat up from his bed.

Yano gave Laneh soft smile and put her hand on Laneh’s cheek. “Daughter, I admire your convictions. But you know little of the world outside our village. For years our clan lived as nomads, never with a place to call our own. Not long after you were born, we found this valley. Since then, we have lived in seclusion, hidden away from the world. The land has provided us ample bounty, keeping us from having to open trade with any nearby town, aside from what we need for Askold’s demands. If they were to know of our existence, it would only be a matter of time until we were routed from these lands, left with no place to call home.”

“But those bandits already know of our village! What is stopping them from telling anyone?” Laneh said in frustration.

Yano shook her head. “Those men see us as a resource. They have no desire to give away such a precious source of food.”

“But we –“

“Enough.” Yano’s face grew sterner. “We will free ourselves of them. But we cannot blindly fight back. Such rashness would lead us into death. We need time to prepare, to learn of our enemy.”

Laneh wanted to rebut her mother, but knew that it would be a fool’s errand, as her mother was the matriarch of the village. No decision made without her consent, no one to dispute her rule.

Later that night, the village gathered outside the communal hut to discuss the hunt.

“Due to the demands of the bandits, our younger will be joining us on the hunt tonight. We will work as usual, but I ask each family to watch over kin, as the younger know naught of the lands outside the valley.” Yano said as she began to hand sacks of equipment to each family.

The villagers left the valley en masse, with only one family staying behind to keep watch over the village and those too young to hunt.

The night proceeded as normal, each family split into groups to prey on a certain region outside the valley. Laneh’s family traveled closely with Ohteh’sae’s, venturing into a forest that bordered a nearby city.

Laneh and Ohteh’sae had never been on a hunt before, but they had trained for months as they were almost of age. Sometime after the groups had split, Laneh and Ohteh’sae regrouped in a small clearing in the forest.

“How is it, finally getting to hunt with your brothers?” Laneh asked.

“Grueling. They think me unfit to even wield a knife.” Ohteh’sae said, as he sat under a tree. “How have you fared?”

Laneh grinned as she sat next to him. “I caught a boar, without help from my mother or father.”

A look of disbelief flashed across Ohteh’sae’s face. “Really?”

“Well, it was quite young. And father did actually put the beast down. But I hobbled him myself!”

Ohteh’sae chuckled. “That’s quite impressive. I guess that’s better than I…”

The two froze as they heard leaves rustle nearby. From the brush emerged a hyur man dressed in plain clothes, with a friendly look on his face. He had short cropped brown hair, kind green eyes, fair skin, and a slender build. He looked directly at them and smiled.

“Greetings fellow travelers. I am afraid that I have become misplaced from my route. You see, I come from a far off land and have made my way here to trade. Mayhaps the two know of a nearby village where I could find some business, or just rest my weary bones?”

The two miqo’te said nothing, but backed away a few steps.

The man smiled and shook his head slightly, revealing a set of gleaming white teeth. “Excuse me for being so forward. My name is Medwin. I come from a city called Ul’dah. Surely you’ve heard of it?”

The two stopped backing away, but stayed silent. Medwin pulled a haversack off of his shoulder and opened it towards the two, showing them the contents. Inside was a horde of treasures the likes they had never seen. Trinkets, baubles, rings, crowns and more shifted in the container as Medwin tilted the opening towards them. Wary, but curious, Laneh leaned towards Medwin to get a better look.

“You see, I am quite the renowned goldsmith, and I have been making my way to Limsa Lominsa to sell off the rest of the wares I have created.” Medwin said as he looked up at Laneh. “I see you’re quite taken by one of my pieces, perhaps you would like a closer look?”

Laneh looked at Medwin and began to speak but Ohteh’sae interposed himself between them. “We aren’t interested.”

Medwin smiled as he looked down and rummaged through the sack. A moment later he pulled out an ornate onyx amulet attached to a long golden chain. “This is what caught your eye, miss?”

Laneh nodded. “It is beautiful. What is it?”

“This is one of my finest pieces, the setting and chain forged from rose gold, the crystal cut from a shard of aetheryte.” Medwin replied as he lifted the necklace up to Laneh’s eye level. “I couldn’t allow myself to let such a masterpiece sit idly on some noblewoman’s neck, so I sought a skilled thaumaturge to imbue it with extraordinary power.”

“What kind of power?” Laneh asked with wide eyes.

Medwin’s smile broadened. “The power to best any adversary.”

Ohteh’sae turned to Laneh and grabbed her by the shoulders, pulling her a few steps away. “Laneh, we have to leave. You know better than anyone what we are supposed to do when we come across an outsider. If Yano finds out we even spoke with this man, she’ll make sure we regret it.”

Dragging Laneh along, Ohteh’sae sprinted away from the man as fast as he could, doing his best to leave a false trail for the strange man. As Laneh ran with him, she looked back at Medwin. The hyur man smiled as they left, stood upright, and took a bow.

After some time spent covering their path and making false trails, Ohteh’sae stopped and turned to Laneh. “What were you thinking? That man could have found out about our village! He could be working for that bastard Askold for all we know!”

Laneh scowled and shoved Ohteh’sae. “I am not solely to blame! It’s not like you ran off at the first sight of him. And you said my name right in front of him!” Ohteh’sae’s face went flush as Laneh continued. “You saw the riches that man had. If we could get our hands on such wealth, perhaps even Askold would leave us be.” In truth, all Laneh thought of was using the power of that amulet to crush Askold and his men.

“So you thought to steal from him?”

Laneh looked downwards and was silent for a moment, then said, “It doesn’t matter now, we are rid of him. We should return to the hunting party.”

The two made their way back to the meeting spot, catching a rabbit and collecting some wild berries along the way. Together, Laneh’s and Ohteh’sae’s groups traveled together, foraging for more food. When Yano was satisfied with their finds, the group returned for the village. Sometime later the other hunting parties made their way home, many of them returning with ample bounties.

The villagers met in the communal hut and pooled together all of their spoils. Laneh helped some of the other villagers separate the food into categories. Yano stood before all of them and began to speak.

“Everyone did well tonight. If we are able to continue this through the week, we will surely be able to trade for the money we need, as well as have enough food to last for some time to come.”

Mahkah, the head of one of the families, stepped forward and spoke. “And what of Askold? We cannot keep this up forever. What of us when the bountiful season passes, when animals are scarce and the trees’ fruit even more so?”

Nodding, Yano continued. “You are right Mahkah. That is why next week, when the bandits return, we will survey them. We will observe how they travel, where they come from, and where they leave themselves vulnerable. This will take weeks, perhaps months. But when we learn of their weaknesses and how to exploit them, we will free ourselves from their grasp.”

The meeting continued with the food being separated into three groups, one for storage, one for trade, and the final for Askold. Then Yano took small groups of villagers around the town to assign them tasks for the next encounter with the bandits. After nearly everyone has been given a place, she took Laneh and Ohteh’sae to the entrance of the valley.

“You two are to watch them as they arrive and leave. The valley path is narrow, so their formation is likely to change here. I suspect this may be the place where they are most vulnerable.”

She then showed the two to the places they would hide, in the trees on either side of the entrance.

The next two days passed without incident. The nightly hunts brought more food, and the villagers continued to prepare for the next meeting. Segoh’a departed the village the next morning to trade their wares for coin.

Late that day, as Yano was tending the crops, Laneh approached. “Mother, I am worried about father. He is usually returned by now.”

Yano did not turn to her daughter. “Often these trades may take time, he will return as soon as he is finished.”

“What if he has come across some monster? I think that I should go look for him.”

Standing up, Yano turned to Laneh and put a hand on her shoulder. “Your father is a resourceful man. Were I to think him in danger, I would be searching for him myself. The closest monsters are malms away, why do you think we value this land so?”

Not long after their conversation, one of the villagers sounded the town bell, signifying the arrival of visitors. Most of the townsfolk hid in their homes; Yano, Ohteh’sae, Laneh, and a few others met in center of town. Down the sole path to the village proper rode Askold and his men. They halted their chocobos as Yano addressed them.

“You are early. Our agreement was for one shipment each week.”

Askold gave Yano a solemn look and said, “Yeah, about that. I’m here for something else. It seems one of my men was a little too enthusiastic while we were out hunting.”

He motioned to a man in the back. The man trotted his chocobo forward until he was only a few yalms away from Yano. He then turned to pull a large form off the back of his chocobo.

The body of Segoh’a fell limp to the ground, a bloody wound gaping in his neck.

Laneh’s whole body grew cold as realization washed over her. She began to shake as she looked at her father’s lifeless form, her eyes blurring as they filled with tears.

The bandit leader scanned the crowd and said, “I would like to formally apologize. You see, my men can be a little overzealous. We are a hungry lot.”

Laneh began to scream as she lunged towards the bandits. Ohteh’sae and another villager held her back, but only just. Yano knelt down to Segoh’a’s corpse and began to run her hands through his hair, saying nothing.

“Due to the unfortunate situation we have here, I’ve decided that we will forego the debt you owe us. I am sure that this will be a trying time for you, but let’s all try to stay focused, shall we?” Askold said as he looked to Laneh. “I can assure you that this was an accident, but let it be known that if you try to retaliate, your fate will be much worse than this man.”

Motioning to his men, the bandits began to leave. Before following, Askold looked to Yano and said, “We’ll see you next week, as normal.”

With that, the bandits were gone. Yano silently wept over Segoh’a as Laneh stopped struggling against the two holding her back. Laneh collapsed to the ground, her face in the dirt as she wailed. A moment later, her mother pulled her up and held her. They mourned the loss of a loved one, as the other villagers attended to Segoh’a’s body.

They buried him that night, many of the villagers consoling the two. Despite this, Yano still instructed everyone to meet in the village center for the nightly hunt. Yet again, the younger of the tribes were sent out to hunt, as only the most infirm or unable were left behind.

As the groups began to split, Laneh ran off on her own. Ohteh’sae gave chase, but lost track of her soon after.

Laneh sat under a large maple tree and sobbed into her knees. Sometime after her tears ran dry, she heard a branch snap nearby. She went silent and still.

From behind a tree emerged Medwin, wearing the same clothing and kind smile as before. He looked to her and gave a knowing nod.

“Well hello again, Laneh. I never thought I would see your face again.”

Laneh wiped her face with her sleeve. “Medwin? I thought you were just passing by?”

“That I was, but it turns out that there are some affluent customers in the area, so I decided to stay for a while.” His face grew worried as he approached. “Oh my, are you alright? What has happened?”

“They killed him!” She began sobbing again as she buried her head in her hands. “They killed my father!”

Medwin knelt down and placed a hand on her shoulder. “I’m sorry, Laneh. It is always difficult to deal with such horrible loss.”

They sat there for a moment as Laneh calmed down. She remembered the amulet that Medwin had shown her earlier and looked to him. “The necklace you showed me days ago, do you still have it?”

He pulled his haversack off his shoulder and rooted through the contents, pulling out the familiar jewelry. “As a matter of fact, it seems that I do.”

“And you said that it is enchanted so as to let me best any foe?”

“Indeed, a powerful enchantment has been laid upon it.”

“I need it. I will pay any price!”

Medwin thought for a moment, then said, “I don’t wish to take advantage of a child that just lost her father.”

“Please, I need to avenge him. He cannot have died just for us to live oppressed under such a monster.”

“How am I to deny a request so noble?” He slowly dropped the chain into Laneh’s hand.

“Thank you Medwin! Please, allow me to pay you. I do not have much, but what I have is yours.” Laneh said as she pulled a small leather sack from her belt.

Pushing the pouch away, Medwin frowned. “Thank you child, but I cannot accept this.”

Laneh pushed the pouch back. “Take it. I would pay any price to see that man brought low. And you told me of how expensive it was to enchant. I would be the one taking advantage if you were to give me this for free.”

Medwin’s face softened as he accepted the pouch. “If you insist.”

Laneh stared at the necklace. “How does it work? What does it do?”

“Ah yes, I supposed I should tell you that.” he gently grabbed the necklace from her hands and turned it in a particular way. “All you needs do is pull the stone from the setting and speak the command words.”

“Command words?”

“’Go forth.’ Once those words are spoken, a powerful beast will appear, crushing those before you.”

Medwin handed the necklace back to her and she stuffed it in a pocket.

“Thank you again, Medwin. How can I repay you for such generosity?”

He smiled again and said, “It is payment enough knowing that I am able to aid someone in such dire need.”

The two stood up and parted ways. Laneh returned to the group, no one asking her where she had gone or why she was empty-handed; to them, she was just grieving in solitude.

The next few days passed quickly. Laneh worked as hard as she could to provide for the village. She knew that soon they would be free, and then they could truly prosper. Ohteh’sae had approached her multiple times, asking if she was alright. Each time she put on a brave face for him, knowing that soon she would have retribution.

The night of Askold’s reckoning finally came. The bandits rode into the village as normal, with many of the villagers waiting in the center to give them their demands. Laneh was waiting in the trees as she was told, Ohteh’sae nearby. She watched as they passed and waited for them to come to a stop, then climbed down the tree and began to sneak towards them.

“Laneh, what are you doing?” Ohteh’sae whispered at her.

She hushed him and told him to stay in the tree, then ran off as quietly as she could. As she approached the clearing to the village, she began to hear the conversation in the town center.

“Listen, bitch. I know you’re still broken up about what happened, but that doesn’t excuse you from your obligations.” Askold was off of his chocobo, holding Yano’s collar in his clenched fist.

“Our obligations are your whims. Every week you ask more of us, and every week we provide more, but it is never enough.” Yano said calmly.

Askold glowered at Yano and then slapped her across the face and threw her to the ground. Laneh abandoned all sense of subtlety and broke out into sprint the moment she realized what was happening.

“Askold! Get away from my mother!” Laneh screamed as she burst into the town center. She stopped in between the bandit lord and her mother, her hand clutching the amulet.

Askold chuckled to himself quietly and then lifted a hand to strike Laneh. Before he could bring it down, Laneh ripped the gem from its setting and shouted “Go forth!”

A pale red beam of light burst forth from the jewelry as a shock wave hit everyone. Askold was forced to the ground and Yano was pushed a few ilms back; somehow Laneh held her place. The light shone bright like a star, sending a pillar into the air. Moments later, the light subsided, a cold darkness following it.

A void, black as pitch, began to grow from the center of the gem. As it engulfed Laneh’s hand, she felt a numbing cold creep up her arm. Instinctively she dropped the gem to the ground, the void growing ever larger. Soon it was a few yalms in width, where it ceased to grow and instead began to release wisps of blackened mist. From the void erupted a long, slender hand, grasping at the ground. Once the hand found purchase, it pulled itself up, revealing its entire form.

It was a grotesque thing, a long spindly body, taut, leathery bat wings, a skeletal face. The beast was nearly twice the size of Askold.

Laneh looked on in horror and awe. Medwin had not lied to her, surely such a fearsome creature would be able to fell these horrible men. Soon she and her mother would be free; all of her friends, everyone. It was time for her revenge.

Almost immediately after emerging, the beast fell upon Askold, tearing at him with tooth and claw. Askold screamed in agony as the winged monstrosity flayed him alive, crushing his bones and eviscerating him.

As the lifeblood and gore of their leader rained down on them, the other bandits panicked. Some shot the beast, others ran for their lives. Laneh was disgusted but ecstatic, the man who tormented her life, and the lives of those she cared for, was finally dead.

Askold was dead in only a few moments, but by the time he spent his last breath, nearly a dozen more horrors had crawled from the void created by the gem. Some of them looked identical to the first one, others completely different.

The horde crawled from the darkness and fell upon the men. Some of the winged beasts plucked men from their saddles, carried them hundreds of yalms into the air, and then dropped them to their deaths. Villagers looked on in terror as the bandits hit the ground with a sickening crunch. The ones that couldn’t fly lumbered on two or four legs, picking the men up in their gigantic hands and either crushed them outright, or tore them in two.

After watching with mouth agape for some time, Laneh noticed that even though most of Askold’s men were either dead or gone, the beasts did not cease their rampage. Some continued a path out of the valley, while most turned on the villagers. They crushed houses and people alike, tearing through them without regard. Fires broke out across the village as houses collapsed.

Laneh’s eyes grew wide as she began to panic. She turned to her mother and helped her stand, right as a winged monster picked Yano up with its large talons. Laneh pulled at her mother with all the strength she could summon, but her grasp was not strong enough. She was pulled with her a few yalms into the air, only to slip from her mother’s hand. Laneh’s leg twisted unnaturally as she hit the ground, falling into a heap.

She pulled herself up and looked to the sky. Her mother was nearly a hundred yalms up by now. She screamed as she saw the monster loose its grip on Yano. Laneh looked away before Yano hit the ground, rubbing her face in the dirt, sobbing uncontrollably.

“Oh, Laneh. My poor, poor girl.” A familiar voice spoke next to her.

Laneh lifted her head, still sobbing. Medwin was standing over her, as though he appeared from mid air. He grabbed her arm and pulled her to her feet. She put forth no effort to stand, so he held her upright.

Laneh wiped her eyes and looked to him, he still wore the same kind smile from before.

“What happened, Medwin? They are killing everyone! The boy you saw me with earlier, have you seen him? We need to escape!” She cried, pulling at Medwin’s cloak.

Medwin looked past her, at the chaos unfolding all around, and gave the scene a sincere smile.

Looking at Laneh, he grasped her arm tightly. “Do you hear them Laneh? Their screams of pain? Their agonized shouts as they breathe their last? That sound is the death knell of all you cared for, everyone you have ever loved. All you hold dear, ended by your own hand.”

Laneh felt a sharp, cold pain in her chest. She looked down to see a short blade sticking out of her abdomen. A hand grasped the blade handle, pulled it free, then stabbed her again. She feebly clawed at Medwin as she slowly fell to ground, her face filled with grief. Medwin continued to smile at her as she collapsed, and she thought she saw a glowing, red sigil flash in front of his face before quickly disappearing.

The last things she saw were the remnants of her village, burning to cinders, and the bloodied corpse of Askold Storme staring vacantly at a star filled night sky.

[soergel-brad]

Old Enough to Waddle, Old Enough to Race, Part III

The following story is featured in volume VI of the digital magazine “The Talefeather.”

A week has passed since I confronted Raffeux about racing. Much to my surprise, he only lightly chuckled at my demand to race. After a few minutes of berating me for letting my head swell, he actually conceded. The only other thing of any import to happen since was Lunu and I scheduling my first race. Despite my protests, I was forced to enter into the “Chickobo Class,” which is the lowest ranking tier, meant for the greenest of racers. That brings us to today, the day of my first race. I meet Lunu in the main hall of the chocobo square, Choco right beside me. I greet her and she leads Choco and me into the jockey area. Inside is a lavishly decorated lounge. There are multiple couches, chairs and tables strewn about, a refreshments bar, a few games from the wonder square, and over a dozen jockeys socializing. Lunu points to the far end of the room. There, a huge gate sits, emblazoned with the gold saucer logo in vibrant golden metal. “That’s where you’re going to go when your race is about to begin. I’m going to lead Choco out to the staging area so the staff can prepare his barding.” She looks up at Choco and continues. “Are you ready Choco?” Choco nods his head and lets out an excited whistle. Lunu then looks at me. “I’ll be back in just a few moments. You should introduce yourself to the other racers.” I’m a bit taken aback by the sheer splendor of the room, and more than a little too excited to say anything, so I just nod my head with my mouth agape. Lunu smiles and lightly grabs my left arm. “Don’t worry, Rurulety. Everyone is quite friendly. Grab a drink, kick your feet up, and relax.” My face goes flush and I nod. Lunu lets go of my arm, grabs Choco’s reins, and leads him through the gilded gate. I stand stock still for a while, unsure what to do. After a minute or so I see Kewi out of the corner of my eye. She is behind the refreshments bar pouring drinks for a pair of Roegadyn. With no better idea of what to do, I approach the counter and take a seat.

“…and just when I though it could’na git any worse, this bastard pulls a graviball right from out his arse! If I did’na know any better, I’d think good ole Symwyn here cares more about makin’ me lose than actually winnin’!” The one closest to me says as he lets out a hearty guffaw. “Thal’s balls Gerwund, you’ll never leave that story be, will you?” Symwyn says as he picks up a mug and begins to drink. Gerwund continues to laugh and slaps Symwyn on the back. “You know I’m jus’ puttin’ ya on mate.” Kewi begins to grab an empty pitcher from the countertop and then sees me. “Rurulety! I was wondering what time you would get here.” “Good morning Kewi, what are you doing here?” “Oh, I switched shifts with the usual barkeep once I heard that your first race was today.” She pulls out a glass from under the table, pours some water into it, and sets it down in front of me. “Symwyn, Gerwund, this is my good friend Rurulety. Today is his first race as an official jockey.” The two men let out a cheer as they raise their glasses in celebration. They loudly welcome me as Gerwund slaps me hard on the back, knocking the wind out of me and nearly throwing me out of my seat. “Sorry, friend. Sometimes I don’t know me own strength.” Gerwund says as he helps stabilize me. I nod and take a drink of water. “Thank you. Are you two in the next race?” Symwyn shakes his head and says, “No, we’re both in the Sabotender class, they won’t match us up with Chickobos.” I am a little disappointed and relieved that I won’t be racing against them. I take another drink of water and clear my throat. “So, how long do we usually have to wait here?” “Usually just a few minutes.” Symwyn says. “The races run pretty much all day with just a few minutes in between.” “So, Rurulety. What made ya decide ta start racing?” Gerwund asks. Gerwund, Symwyn, Kewi and I spend the next few minutes sharing stories about what got us to where we are now. Sometime soon after, Lunu appears and takes a seat next to me. “…And I swear to this day, the bastard is still pulling aurelia barbs out of his arse!” Gerwund says as we all break out into laughter. Lunu clears her throat and says, “Sorry that took so long. Because it’s your first race, they had to go over your papers once more to make sure everything is correct.” I turn to Lunu and say, “Oh sorry Lunu, we were all just talking about our first races. Well, their first races. I told them all about Raffeux.” Lunu smiles. “Don’t worry about it. I was worried you would still be standing in the doorway when I got back. I’m happy to see you made some friends. Hello Gerwund, Symwyn.” Symwyn raises his glass and nods to Lunu, Gerwund laughs and yells, “Lulu, my girl! How ‘ave the tracks been treatin’ ya?” “Well I’ve got this rising star right here, so I would say pretty well. How about you?” I blush at the compliment, and Gerwund nods. “Sabotender class is somethin’ else I tell ya. Worse than goin’ from Moogle class ta Ochu class, if ya can even believe that.” Lunu smirks. “I remember when you made it to Ochu class. ‘Nobody can beat the unstoppable Gerwund!’” Gerwund laughs. “Aye, I was quite full o’ meself.” “You still are.” Symwyn adds. Lunu laughs and then says, “I’m sorry guys, I would love to stay, but I’ve got to get Rurulety out to the race.” Kewi turns to us after handing a drink to another jockey further down the bar. “Let’s all go watch! We’re never going to get another chance to see his first race!” Symwyn and Gerwund look at each other and nod. Gerwund says, “Ah, what the hells. We have a few hours to kill.” Kewi talks to one of the other employees for a minute and then runs around the bar. “Alright, let’s go!” We all leave the bar; Kewi, Gerwund and Symwyn head for the bleachers, Lunu and I walk toward the gilded gate. Past the gate is a long tunnel that leads to the staging area for the chocobos. There I see Choco and a half a dozen other chocobos, most of which are being attended by their jockeys. “Choco, you look amazing!” I say as I run up and hug him. He lets out an excited chirp as his head bobs up and down. He is dressed in fine leather barding, with a blue and yellow checker motif. He has new reins and a new leather helmet on with the same pattern as the barding. I turn to Lunu. “Did you do this?” Lunu smiles. “I know it isn’t much, but I just thought…” I wrap my arms around Lunu for a moment, then realize what I’m doing and let go. I panic a little and stare at my feet. “Sorry, it’s just… It’s amazing.” I look up at Lunu, her face is flush. “There was one other thing.” She rummages through her bag for a moment and pulls out a pair of goggles, the leather straps matching Choco’s barding. She hands them to me and I stare at them. Then I look up at Lunu, smiling. “Thank you. For everything.” Lunu nods at me and then furrows her brow. “Are you ready?” I smirk and nod. Choco and I say our goodbyes, and Lunu leaves to join Kewi and the others. A Hyur woman dressed in plain slops and a leather tabard approaches and grabs Choco’s reins. “Are you prepared, sir?” I nod, put my new goggles on, and jump on Choco’s back. The woman leads us to the starting line and wishes us luck. I look all around me and everything feels like a dream. Trees surround the track, forming a canopy that allows light to beam down only in certain spots. The path ahead is uneven but well worn. The other jockeys to my left and my right look so different compared to what I had seen from the stands. I scan the long, wooden fence that surrounds the track and in the distance I think I can see a morbol. In the stands I spot Kewi jumping up and down and waving. I wave back and see Lunu approach. She takes a seat next to Kewi and smiles at me. I smile back and give a thumbs up. Just then a voice blares throughout the track. “Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to the first Chickobo class exhibition race of the day. Everyone please give a warm welcome to the racers!” A loud round of applause rings out as I beam a giant grin. “You hear that Choco? That applause is for us.” Choco whistles happily but I can feel him shaking. Or is that me? I give him a pat on the side of his neck. “Just concentrate on the track. I know that there are dozens of people watching, but that’s not important. What’s important is that we do the best we can, just like all these months we’ve been practicing. If we stick to that, we’ll do just fine.” I realize about halfway through that I’m saying this just as much for him as I am for me. As I’m saying this, the announcer is listing off all of the chocobos in the race. “...Number 3, Bochoco Choco!” He pauses for a moment as the crowd applauds. I realize a little too late and awkwardly wave to everyone after the cheer dies down. “Number 4, Flying Zero! Number 5, Nice Nemesis! Number 6, Restless Patient! Number 7, Stylish Phoenix! And number 8, Rice Unicorn!” In between each number, he pauses for applause. The announcer does a countdown from five to one, and after one shouts “Go!” At the same time, a loud bang sounds and the gates keeping us in our spots are lifted. I spur Choco on with my feet and he bursts out into a furious sprint. We break ahead of the pack immediately and gain some distance. I realize that he is going to burn himself out too quickly at this pace so I lightly pull back on his reins. We still hold the lead but I glance behind and see Stylish Phoenix and Nice Nemesis start to gain on us. The first item box is only about 20 yalms away now, so I maneuver Choco to run right through it. He does just that and an item is teleported into my hands. Thanks to Lunu and Raffeux I know exactly which one it is. I hold on to the red vial and make sure not to break it yet. Just then, Nice Nemesis runs past us in a red haze; whoever was behind him must have hit him with some Bacchus’s Water. I decide to slow Choco down just a little more, in case something similar happens to me. Rice Unicorn and Number 1, Saffron, are head to head right next to me. Stylish Phoenix has taken second place right behind Nice Nemesis, but I know he’ll get first soon since Nice Nemesis is probably reeling from that Bacchus’s Water. Over the hill, a short ways past the first item box, my suspicions are confirmed. A truly gigantic morbol waits at the edge of a hairpin turn in the track. It waits patiently for us to approach, and I know that this is my opportunity. I rush Choco forward and he breaks away from the pack. Somehow, Nice Nemesis is still in first, but Stylish Phoenix is quickly gaining on him. There is a bit of distance between me and Stylish Phoenix, but if Raffeux wasn’t lying about what he said, this should work. I crack the vial in my hands and the entire thing vanishes in a puff of smoke. A red point of light shoots out from Choco, straight to Stylish Phoenix. The moment it hits him, he is surrounded by a purple ring that looks to be pulling down on him. Due to the extra weight, he is unable to avoid the putrid exhale of the morbol. Stylish Phoenix begins stumbling about, and immediately begins losing speed. I, and soon the rest of the group, easily overtake him. For a little while, Choco and I cruise along the track casually. We hold first place uncontested for a bit, and we just narrowly miss an item box hidden around a sharp bend in the track. Moments later I hear a whistling sound from behind me. I look back to see a red beam streak towards me. It hits Choco and I can see thin little red clouds appear in the air, and Choco begins running as fast as he can. “Alright, Choco, we’ve done this at Raffeux’s before, just try your best to stay calm.” He doesn’t respond to my words, but thankfully he responds to my movement; we just barely swerve out of the way of a mandragora. After a few more moments, the Water runs its course, and Choco regains his senses. His breath is labored and ragged, so I pull back on his reins to slow him down. The majority of the racers soon gain on me, and I am now lost in the pack, trying to keep myself from falling too far behind while at the same time trying to keep Choco from exhausting himself. A little further on I see another morbol, and I recognize my chance win. I push Choco hard for a moment, and he breaks away from the pack. His gait is a little uneven due to the Water, but I reassure him. “Sorry Choco, but if you can just hold out a little longer, we’ve got this.” As we approach, the morbol turns to us. I veer Choco to the side opposite the morbol and slow down to a crawl. The group of racers behind us close the distance in a clump. Once I get close enough, the morbol inhales a large breath, and I see my opening. I yell to Choco and he sprints as fast as he can towards the morbol, narrowly avoiding the cone of breath it unleashes a second later. Thanks to the wide arc we made, the entire patch of the track in front of the morbol is covered in its fetid belch, washing over the whole group of racers. I cheer for a moment as I pull back on Choco’s reins, he needs a moment’s respite. I look behind and all I see is a tangled mess of chocobos running sideways and bumping into each other. Seconds later I see the finish line. I pat Choco on the head in congratulations, and then I feel as if Gerwund hopped on my back. I see that purple halo that surrounded Stylish Phoenix earlier, and look back to see Rice Unicorn emerge from the group of racers in a hellish sprint. I push Choco on as hard as I can, but it’s no use. Rice Unicorn overtakes us easily and continues to sprint for the finish line. Soon, the graviball wears off, and Choco begins to gain speed. Despite that, Rice Unicorn has too much of a lead on us, or so I think. About 50 yalms from the finish, Rice Unicorn’s head drops, and she goes from a victorious sprint to a defeated crawl. Choco rushes forward as fast as he can and crosses the finish line seconds before Rice Unicorn. The rest of the group follows in an unorganized heap. As we come to a stop I hug Choco’s neck and he lets out a tired wark. “We did it! You did such a good job!” I jump off Choco’s back and catch my breath, I hadn’t realized how nervous I was until just now. The other jockeys dismount their chocobos and most of them begin to approach me. Rice Unicorn’s jockey, an Au Ra lady, shoots an angry look at me for a second, then smiles and says, “Good race! I really thought I had you, but my poor Unicorn just pushed herself a little too hard.” “Thank you, ma’am! I was panicking, I never thought I would catch back up.” I say as pull my goggles down. “My name is Darcy.” She says as she sticks her arm out to me. We shake hands as I say, “Rurulety, pleased to meet you Darcy.” She nods. “You’re new aren’t you? I’ve never seen you around here before.” “Mhm. This is actually my first real race.” She chuckles and says, “Wow, well congratulations! You’re off to a great start.” The race attendants arrive and begin to lead us back to the jockey’s lobby. Darcy and I talk on the way back, with a few other jockeys adding in a comment here and there. When we get back to the lobby, we are greeted with cheers. Everyone singles me out for a moment, and unsure what to do, I cheer with them. This goes on for a few seconds and then we are told to go to the registration desk if we would like to see our standings. Darcy and the others congratulate me again and then bid me farewell, and through the crowd I can see Gerwund’s head. The crowd begins to disperse and I make my way towards them. I can hear Lunu and Kewi cheer before I can even see them. “Hey everyo…” I start to say as I am lifted off the ground. Gerwund throws me on his shoulder as the others cheer. A little disoriented, I brace myself against Gerwund’s head and look down at everyone with a big grin on my face. “I did it!” I cheer. “Um, Gerwund, can I get down now?” He laughs and sets me on the ground, then says, “Good job kiddo! I gotta say, I never saw such masterful riding by a Chickobo. Especially one that jus’ started!” “I knew you could do it Rurulety!” Kewi cheers. She grabs Lunu’s arms and jumps up and down, trying to get Lunu to do the same. After a moment, Lunu gives in and starts jumping too. We all celebrate with some food and drinks. I ask an attendant to bring Choco out, and he arrives soon after. I treat him to a giant bowl of Sylkis greens and I indulge with some Dzemael gratin, triple cream coffee, and rolanberry cheesecake. We sit at a table and spend the next half an hour or so talking about the race and relaxing, until I hear a voice behind me. “…I love seeing these children get all excited when they win a race, it’s almost as if you can see their heads grow.” “Ha, exactly. Did you see them? That Lalafell was lucky all of those other racers were such idiots.” I turn my head to look at the people behind me and see none other than Altun, talking with an Elezen jockey. Everyone at the table has gone quiet by now. Symwyn clears his throat and says, “So, Lunu, have you ever thought about racing again? I miss having someone around that can actually give me a challenge.” I hear a loud laugh come from Altun and I see Lunu bury her face in her drink. I turn around and look directly at Altun, scowl, and say, “Excuse me. Is there something funny?” Everyone around has lowered their voices to a hush and Lunu sets her drink down, saying, “Rurulety, please just ignore him.” Altun takes a drink from his glass, brushes a hand through his hair, and says, “Kid, just go back to your little party.” I turn to Lunu and the others. “Is this how he always acts? Does everyone just put up with this sod?” Everyone looks a bit taken aback at what I said. Altun slams his glass down on the table and walks up to me, putting his face just a few feet from mine. “What did you call me, you little half-wit?” “Well… I…” I stammer for a moment, then remember what he just did and steel my resolve. “I called you a sod, you bloody sod!” Altun grabs me by the collar and proceeds to lift me off the ground. A split second later, Gerwund and Symwyn are on their feet right behind him. “Why don’t ya put our new friend down? ‘Er else maybe ya’d like me an’ Symwyn ta play a game o’ ‘Toss the Au Ra?’ Let me tell ya, I’m great at throwin’, but I’ve never been so good at catchin’.” Gerwund says. Altun looks back at them and sets me down in my chair, then straightens his jacket and seems to compose himself. He pushes his way past Symwyn and Gerwund, then looks back at me. “I thought it was pretty funny that your oaf of a friend here thinks that Lunu was anything but a terrible racer.” I jump out of my seat onto Gerwund’s back, climb to his shoulders and propel myself at Altun’s face, clawing viciously at his stupid eyes. At least, I do that in my head. In reality, I jump off the chair towards Altun, but am easily stopped by Gerwund. “Calm down, friend. A bastard like ‘im isn’t worth tha trouble.” Altun smirks. “Did you know that she couldn’t even make it past Sabotender class? Just because she’s better than these two piss poor jockeys doesn’t mean she’s good.” I begin to fume, and blurt out the first thing that comes to mind. “I bet I could beat you.” Altun’s face goes blank for a moment and then he doubles over laughing. Lunu walks over to me. “Rurulety, you really shouldn’t do this. He’s been racing for years, it’s a whole different kind of race when you get to Bahamut class.” “Hahaha, face it kid, you’re never going to be this good. I bet you won’t even get past Chickobo class. You and that stupid chocobo of yours… What’s his name? ‘Chocobo Chocobo?’ Pathetic. How about this? When you come to your senses and realize what a waste of time this has all been, you come to me. Maybe I’ll hire you and that Chocobo Chocobo of yours for target practice in between races. Oh, or how about this? I hire you to muck out my stables, and we can use your chocobo to carry my gear to and from the gold saucer.” I grit my teeth and open my mouth to start yelling, but before I can, Lunu and Kewi have already started. “LISTEN HERE YOU BLACKGUARD! Those two could beat you and your chocobo any day of the week!” They continue yelling as Symwyn and Gerwund do their best to hold the two back, as they look ready to pounce on Altun. After a moment they settle down. Altun crosses his arms and looks at me with disdain. “Fine, you want to be humiliated? I’ll show you what a real race is like. Tomorrow morning.” I shoot the same look right back at him. “Tomorrow morning it is.” Altun turns away, motions to the Elezen from earlier, and the two walk out of the lounge. We all stand in silence for a moment. “What just happened?” I ask. Kewi looks at me with wide eyes and says, “I don’t know, I just got so mad! Why didn’t you stop me Lunu? You’re the sensible one!” “How am I responsible? I’m allowed to get angry too you know! You heard what he was saying!” Gerwund and Symwyn look at each other and start laughing. “That was quite the show.” Symwyn says as the two sit down. “Aye, but I hate ta break it to ya, Rurulety, that little shite is as good as everyone says he is.” Gerwund says as he pops a small tomato in his mouth. “What am I going to do? He’s going to destroy me.” I say as I slump into my chair. Lunu sets a hand on my shoulder and looks at me with an iron resolve. “Study, that’s what you’re going to do. Altun has three races scheduled for today, so we’re going to go watch them so you can learn his movements and style. Then you’re going to get a good night’s sleep. You and Bochoco can beat him, I wouldn’t have said it if I didn’t believe it.” Kewi nods enthusiastically. “That’s a great idea! Then Rurulety can get a good sense of what a Bahamut class race is like.” I blink forcibly to focus myself and nod slightly. “All right. Let’s do it. When is his next race?” “In about an hour.” Kewi says. “We should leave soon though. The stands usually fill up quick for his races.” “Sorry mates, Symwyn and meself aren’t gonna be able ta join ya for that. We’ve got our own race startin’ soon.” Gerwund says as he and Symwyn stand up. “But I’ll be damned if I’m gonna miss your race tomorrow.” Symwyn nods and adds, “If there’s any Chickobo that can beat Altun, it’s definitely you. Good luck, Rurulety.” I smile and thank them, and wish them luck on their races. I spend the next half an hour asking questions to Lunu and Kewi about Bahamut class races. From their descriptions, it sounds like the race I was just in, but with a thousand times more obstacles. We spend the rest of the day talking about what the race will be like, watching Altun race, while trying to find any tells or weaknesses he might have. As the day wears on, I feel more and more hopeless. The first race must have had 30 morbols throughout the track, a few weren’t even behind the guard rails. The second race was a mix of aurelia, morbols, and mandragoras, and I swear the mandragoras didn’t even have stalks popping out of the ground. The last race had so many aurelia and cactuars that I could barely see the track. Every race I watched him like a hawk, and the most I could learn about him was that he got this stupid smirk on his face when he got a graviball. After the races, Lunu, Kewi and I sat in the lounge for a while and discussed what we saw. I mentioned the graviball reaction, Kewi said that she noticed him reacting to other racers oddly and Lunu supported that. “I think he gets a little flustered when certain people would pass him.” Kewi said. Lunu thought for a moment. “Maybe he thinks those racers are beneath him?” We sit in silence for a minute, then I bury my head in my hands. I feel a hand on my shoulder. “It’s okay Rurulety, you can do it!” I look up and see Kewi’s smile gleaming down at me. I let out a deep sigh and rest my head on the table. “Thanks you two. It’s getting kind of late though, I feel like I should turn in. I need to spend the rest of the night trying to sleep.” We all say our goodnights, and Choco and I head back to Raffeux’s. I spend the rest of the night tossing and turning, getting a small amount of sleep here and there. Mostly I just lie in bed thinking about how badly I am going to lose the race tomorrow. “WAKE UP YOU IDIOT!” I hear Raffeux scream as he kicks my bed. I get up with a start and begin to rub my eyes, my head pointed towards the floor. “Tell me that Kewi is lying boy! Are you really so stupid as to challenge Altun to a race? ON YOUR FIRST DAY AS A JOCKEY!” “What was I supposed to do? He- he’s a little shite!” My face is warm and I quickly realize I am in my smallclothes, so I scramble to find my clothing. Raffeux stares at me for a second and his face softens. “I never thought I’d hear a word like that come out of your mouth boy.” “Yeah well, he deserves it. You should have heard me yesterday.” Raffeux folds his arms and says, “Meet me in kitchen.” I finish getting dressed and walk into the kitchen. Raffeux sets out a stack of popoto pancakes, sits down and begins slathering them in treant syrup. “Take a seat, eat.” I sit in a chair next to him and put a few pancakes on my plate, I take a bite but can’t have anymore. My nerves are too frayed to eat. Raffeux takes a giant bite and then sets his utensils down. “So how do you plan on beating him?” I play with my pancakes and look up at Raffeux. “Just try my best I guess. I tried watching him yesterday to see if there was anything about him I could exploit, but he’s practically flawless.” Raffeux raises an eyebrow. “How shrewd. It seems there are a number of ways you can surprise. So what did you see?” “Nothing! I mean, he gets excited when he finds a graviball and he gets mad when some people pass him. But how can I use that?” Raffeux rubs his chin. “So you saw those? Alright, this stays between you and me.” He adjusts himself in his seat and continues. “Altun is nothing if not pretentious. The graviball is kind of a calling card that he uses.” I look at Raffeux quizzically. “Calling card?” “He’s a braggart. You know that. When he feels confident enough, he’ll hold a graviball and ignore any other item he comes across. When he gets near the end stretch, he’ll run ahead of the pack, graviball the person in first and sprint as fast as he can to the finish. I think it’s his way of rubbing your nose in the dirt.” “So you’re telling me that he’s so good that he can ignore items and still get in first place?” Raffeux chuckles a little. “What I’m telling you is that he’s full of himself. That angry look you saw? That’s because he thinks he’s too good to lose. If you exploit that, then you can win.” Raffeux then motions to my plate. “Eat up boy. You need it.” I try to take another bite, but I just don’t have the stomach for it. I spend the next hour or so talking to Raffeux as he and I grab Choco and head for the Gold Saucer. We meet Lunu and Kewi in the lounge and they try to reassure me. Soon after Symwyn and Gerwund show up as well. They wish me luck, then leave to get their seats. While Lunu takes Choco to get prepped for the race, I look around for Altun, but he is nowhere to be found. Kewi notices eventually and tells me that he is already in the staging area. “Alright, it’s time.” Lunu says as she walks up to us. We all stand up and Kewi bends down and gives me a hug. “You’re going to be great!” Raffeux looks at me and says, “Remember everything we talked about boy.” I nod and thank the two of them, then walk to the staging area with Lunu. We reach Choco and I start to mount him when Lunu stops me. “Rurulety… You don’t have anything to prove you know. Just be careful.” I nod and grin. “If anyone has to be careful, it’s Altun.” Lunu wraps her arms around me and for a moment my arms just hang limply at my side. Then I start hugging her back. “Excuse me, sir? Ma’am? We need to start the race.” Comes a voice from behind me. We let go and look at each other for a moment, then smile at each other. I jump on Choco’s back and the attendant leads me to the start line. Just like before, we sit behind the start line as the announcer lists off all of our chocobo’s names. When he gets to number 5, Altun, the crowd begins to roar. When they get to me, number 7, it’s mostly scattered applause, but I can hear Kewi yelling. The track today looks a lot like the second race Altun did yesterday, I can see the tiny sprouts in the ground and a horde of aurelia in the distance. Raffeux’s words echo in my head. “Remember, no matter how helpless it looks, those monsters will always, ALWAYS leave you an opening.” The announcer yells “Go!” as a bang rings out and we are loosed from our enclosures. All of the racers sprint out of the gate and immediately jump the mandragora. I decide to play cautious at first and gingerly hop over the line of plants. I can see Altun up ahead, fighting for first place with number 2, Darksteel Titan. The two are approaching a wall of aurelia; Altun gets in front of Darksteel Titan, slows down while blocking his path, and waits until the aurelia are about to shift, then sprints ahead just in time to avoid them. Darksteel Titan is too close to avoid them in time and gets a face full of barbs. I manage to gain a little ground and travel with the middle of the pack for a while. Number 4, Alpha Strike tries to pull the same maneuver with me, but instead I just pull back on Choco’s reins hard. He screeches to a near halt, giving me plenty of time to safely make it through the wall. We approach the first item box, guarded by a handful of cactuar. They are circling it in such a way that you need time your path perfectly to fit through without getting stung. I see Altun pass through the group and grab an item. He looks back towards us with that stupid smile, it must have been a graviball. Number 1, Ultra Wonderful, manages to get through the item trap without being touched and immediately uses it. A red bolt streaks towards Altun and his chocobo, Storm’s Eye, goes into a frenzy; so much so that he almost runs into the next wall of aurelia. I try to time my entrance into the trap, but at the last second pull away as I am pretty sure I wouldn’t have made it. A moment later number 3, Pastel Magic, bolts past me like a shooting star. I thank the twelve that they didn’t get an item to use on me, as it takes all of my concentration to get past the next aurelia wall. Past that hazard is a mine field of mandragora. I watch Altun’s movements as he weaves back and forth, then I decide this is my time to catch up. I push Choco onward, mimicking the path that Altun took. I glance behind and see Darksteel Titan and see number 6, Elegant Terror follow suit. Ultra Wonderful and Pastel Magic take a different path, but only Pastel Magic makes it out of the mine field unscathed. Pastel Magic actually breaks ahead of Altun, and I swear I can feel the disdain radiate from him as he almost immediately uses the graviball he had. He easily overcomes Pastel Magic and I hurry Choco on so we can do the same. Choco and I gain on Altun, rounding a bend to see a crowd of morbols shuffling about. Altun pushes Storm’s Eye forward into the waiting morbols. He slows once he reaches them, trying to bait them to face me, then sprints ahead once they are about to belch. I don’t take the bait though. Veering to the right, I follow a completely different path. The crowd is so thick that I almost run into a few of them. The moment I break out of the crowd, I look back to see a cloud of morbol breath covering the entire track. Out of the corner of my eye I see Altun emerge, somehow I made it through faster than him. I wave and yell at him, trying to grab his attention. He sees me and his face contorts in rage. I look forward an almost run into a wall, turning just in time. As I round the bend I see something I can barely believe. A wide, flat field sits in front of me, past that is a small stretch and the finish line. In that field are dozens of sprouts, possibly even more aurelia, and a few morbols. There is also an item box floating like a beacon in the midst of it. Choco and I slow for a moment, and I decide a path to take. Like a dream, Choco and I manage to weave through the pack without touching a thing. I begin to make my way to the center where the item box is when I start to hear a noise behind me. Altun comes charging towards me, slams Storm’s Eye into Choco, and runs past. I try to stabilize Choco, but the force from Storm’s Eye is just too strong. We stumble to the side, right into an aurelia. The barbs sting something fierce, but I grit my teeth and push on. We end up hitting a mandragora as well. As it jumps into the air, I swat it away with my hand, keeping it from distracting us too much. Altun has gained some ground and I can see off to the side that a few of the other racers have caught up. Elegant Terror screams past in a red hazed fury, eventually hitting an aurelia which leads him to a few mandragora, which leads to a large dose of morbol breath. Pastel Magic and Darksteel Titan seem to fight a bit, until they too are split up by aurelia. Ultra Wonderful manages to grab the item box but then gets a face full of mandragora after taking a bad step. As this is all going on, I throw caution to the wind and start running towards Altun at a hellish pace. Somehow I avoid the aurelia and mandragoras, and correctly bait the morbol. I have Choco do a quick sidestep and just manage to grab the item box. As there is no one between Altun and myself, I crush the vial in my hands and a red dot streaks across the track to Altun. A familiar purple halo surrounds him, and the sudden change in speed makes him mistime a dodge, running him face first into an aurelia. I take this opportunity to gain some ground, pushing Choco to his limit. I can hear his labored breathing and try to reassure him that we almost made it. Altun emerges from the monster field into the straightaway, and I do the same just a moment later. The graviball is still affecting him, so I pass him a second later. Thinking of nothing better, I look back at him and stick my tongue out. Instead of having a look frustration and rage, he has that stupid smirk. I try to pull Choco’s reins back so I can get behind him, but it’s too late. He crushes the vial and almost immediately that purple ring surrounds me. By now his has worn off, so he starts to gain on me easily. Since there is nothing left for me to do, I just goad Choco to go as fast as he can. Our small lead might be enough to stay ahead. Yalms from the finish line and it looks like we might win, but just a moment before crossing, Altun bursts ahead of us. Choco and I cross the finish line, and Altun is waiting there with a smug look on his face. The rest of the racers arrive seconds later. “I told you.” Is all that Altun says still wearing that stupid smirk. I say nothing and just wait for the attendants to lead us back to the lobby. We arrive and the majority of people surround Altun as he enters, everyone clamoring for questions or autographs. I walk out of the tunnel with my head mostly towards the ground, as I enter the lounge I see a dozen pairs of feet. I look up to see a small crowd of people all waiting for me; Lunu, Kewi, Raffeux, Gerwund, Symwyn, and a bunch of other people I have never seen. Everyone starts cheering and applauding me; all I give them is a confused look. “THAT WAS AMAZING RURULETY!” Kewi says as she gives me a big hug. “But I lost.” I’m trying to be upset, but everyone is just so happy for me. Gerwund steps forward and bends down to look at me eye to eye. He puts his face really close to mine, then puts both of his giant hands on the sides of my face. “Friend, do ya understand what ya just did? Ya got second place. In a Bahamut class race. On your second day o’ racing.” He stands up straight and yells, “So cheer up kiddo! This is call for celebratin’!” Everyone else starts cheering and applauding and I can’t help but start smiling. After a few minutes of congratulations, some questions about the race and whether I’m going to keep doing Bahamut class, the crowd disperses. Kewi, Lunu, Raffeux, Gerwund, Symwyn and I sit in the lounge, eat some food, and talk for a while. I ask an attendant to bring Choco in and soon after he joins us. “Well boy, I won’t lie when I tell you I didn’t think you would win.” Raffeux says as he takes a sip of coffee. “But I never would have thought you’d get second place, either.” “That’s one of the nicest things you’ve said to me Raffeux.” I say with a smirk. We continue to chat for a while, eventually Gerwund and Symwyn have to go race, and then Raffeux leaves for a training session. Kewi, Lunu and I relax for a while as I recount every moment of the race. “Well, I should probably get back to work.” Kewi says sometime later as she stands up and winks at me. I raise an eyebrow and say, “Ok Kewi, I guess I’ll see you later?” “Oh of course, I’ll be around. I’ve just got things to attend to.” She winks at me again. “See ya Rurulety, see ya Lunu!” She gives Choco a pat on the head and then walks out of the lounge. “That really was something else, Rurulety.” Lunu says. I chuckle a little. “Thanks, but if it weren’t for you and Raffeux and Kewi, there is no way I would be here.” Lunu smiles at me and then she perks up. “Oh no! I completely lost track of time!” “What’s wrong?” I need to get to the registration desk, or you aren’t going to have any races booked for tomorrow.” We run out of the lounge and towards the registration desk. We arrive in time to get a midday and an evening race. Lunu looks at me, flustered. “Sorry Rurulety. I was caught up in this whole race, I completely forgot.” I smile and shake my head. “Don’t worry about it, I still have two races tomorrow.” Choco whistles tiredly at my response. “Alright well I should probably go back to work, I need to go over race schedules and make sure the upcoming tournament is set up correctly.” She smiles at me and says, “See you tomorrow?” I smile back and nod enthusiastically. Lunu turns away and starts walking back to the lounge. “Hey, Lunu, wait.” She turns back to me. “Yes?” “Um, so, tomorrow I don’t have any races in the morning. But I’m so used to being here so early thanks to Raffeux. I was wondering if maybe… Would you want to get some breakfast with me?” She smiles at me. “As long as we can have some popoto pancakes.”

[soergel-brad]

Old Enough to Waddle, Old Enough to Race, Part II

The following story is featured in volume V of the digital magazine “The Talefeather.”

About a month and a half of training have passed now, and I know I must be so close to avoiding Bessie’s horrid breath. I get out of bed and greet Choco with a pat on the head. He lifts his head up and yawns contently. He’s gotten so much bigger already, he is nearly half my size at this point. No more carrying him around I suppose. Thankfully, Raffeux agreed to let me stay here for the time being while I train. We partake of breakfast; some popoto pancakes with treant syrup for myself, and a giant bowl of gysahl greens for Choco. Afterwards, we leave the cottage and are greeted by Kewi.

“Morning Rurulety, Bochoco.” She says while lounging in the grass. “Lulunu couldn’t make it today, she said something about magicks and then ran off before I could get a word in.” Choco warks and runs up to Kewi, nuzzling her face. She scratches his head and looks at me. “How has it been the past few days? I was sure by now you would have bested Bessie.”

“Great to know that I don’t meet your expectations.” I say as I furrow my brow.

Kewi blushes a little and puts her hands over her mouth. “I’m sorry! I didn’t mean it like that! It’s just that you have been progressing so well. Since I haven’t seen you in some time, I thought you would already be on the obstacle course.”

I shake my head and say, “It’s fine, I am just frustrated. No matter how hard I try, I just can’t seem to avoid it completely. A few times I only caught a whiff of it, but even that is enough to send me reeling. Considering all I’ve done this whole time is exercise and run from morbols, I think I am beginning to lose my wits.”

Kewi stands up and nods. “I don’t know if Raffeux would want me to tell you this but, pay attention to Bessie, not where you are going to run.”

I raise an eyebrow. “But of course I am paying attention to Bessie, what else would I be looking at?”

Kewi sighs and flicks her fingernails together. “I can’t just spell it out for you, Rurulety. Morbols have a… quirk. It’s up to you to find it.”

Quirk? It has to be something related to their miserable breath, but what? Kewi said I need to watch Bessie, so there must be something she does that gives it away. Now I just need to find it.

I grin and nod. “Thanks Kewi, I’ve got an idea of what I need to do. C’mon Choco, let’s not keep Bessie waiting.” Choco kwehs and comes to my side.

“Good luck you two! I’ll be right up here cheering you on!” Kewi says as she approaches the edge of the pit.

Choco and I enter the pit and Raffeux releases Bessie as usual. Bessie lumbers out of the gate and begins to slide toward us. I look to Choco and say, “Ok Choco, I’ve got a plan. You go right, and I’ll go left. Just like we’ve been practicing, but this time we split up.”

Choco whistles in agreement and readies himself to run.

Once Bessie stops, I give Choco the signal to move. We both run in opposite directions as fast as we can. Bessie chooses to follow me, turning her tentacled mass in my direction. I try my best to keep my eyes on her as she does, but I’m forced to look away as I almost run into the wall of the pit.

Momentum makes me slide closer to the wall as I try to change direction, and I can tell after suffering through it so many times that Bessie is about to let out a putrid belch. My right hand digs into the dirt to slow myself as I change course, and I whip my head around to see Bessie facing me dead on. I scramble forward in a wide circle around Bessie, my eyes never leaving the hulking beast. After a moment, she inhales and closes her mouth.

That’s it! Once she closes her mouth she pauses for a moment! I try my best to circle out of the way of the breath, but I’m just a step short.

The noxious fumes wash over me as I tuck and roll, covering my face to avoid the worst of it. By now I’ve gotten as used to morbol breath as one can, and I only sprawl out on the ground in a heap retching. It’s better than passing out. I think.

I hear Choco warking wildly as I lift my head up. Two of him are nudging at me with their beaks. I roll onto my back and everything spins. After a few moments I begin to stand, Choco pushing his head under my arm to help me up. I put my weight on Choco as I am pretty sure I can’t quite stand on my own yet.

“Choco… I figured it out.” I manage to say after a bit of effort.

Raffeux strolls casually down the stairs to the pit with a sly grin. “So close boy. I thought you might actually make it this time.”

He walks up to Bessie and feeds her some unrecognizable mass. Her slimy maw devours the pile in a matter of seconds and she lets out a grating noise. Raffeux scratches her side and looks to me.

“Well, I’m sure you’ve had enough for now boy. Kewi fried up some dodo eggs if you’re hungry.”

“No, I want to go again.” I say as I try to stand up on my own. I falter for a moment and Choco catches me with his head. “Alright, perhaps I need a moment, but just.”

I slump to the ground and Choco sits down with me. Everything spins before snapping back into place.

Raffeux looks to Bessie and gives her a few pats. “You heard the boy, Bessie. Give him a minute, then get back to it.”

Bessie shakes a little and lets out that same grating sound as before. I rest for a few moments, catching my breath and steadying my vision, or trying to anyways.

Eventually everything stops spinning and I nod to Raffeux. He slaps Bessie on the side and walks towards the stairs.

“Choco, when I give the signal, follow me. We need to get as close to her as we can.”

Choco whistles hesitantly at me as we ready ourselves. Bessie begins slinking towards us as usual, and stops once she is a few yalms away. Just as she inhales a large breath I yell, “Now!”

Choco and I burst into a sprint towards Bessie in an attempt to circle around her. Right as we reach her she does her signature pause, giving us ample time to run around her and avoid the breath. By the time we are directly behind her, she lets out a terrible sigh.

“Haha! We did it!” I exclaim as I fall flat on my face. Choco whistles and runs circles around me. I let out a deep exhale and just feel cool dirt on my face. I lift my head to see Kewi and Raffeux standing over me.

Kewi jumps up and down. Raffeux kneels and extends a hand to me. I grab it and hoist myself up off the ground, then begin to dust myself off.

“Good job boy, you finally figured it out.” Raffeux says as he begins to walk over to the gate.

“That was great Rurulety! You too Bochoco!” Kewi says as she hugs Choco. Choco is warking loudly and jumping up and down with Kewi.

Raffeux opens the gate and ushers Bessie through, then walks up to me. “You hungry, boy? There are some leftover dodo eggs if you’re interested.”

I shake my head. “How can I eat after smelling that miserable stench?”

We all walk out of the pit and relax for a little while. Raffeux leaves to train another jockey, Kewi feeds Choco greens while they watch a Hyur woman and her chocobo do laps around one of Raffeux’s tracks. I settle against a tree in the shade and close my eyes.

I wake up sometime later and see that Choco is resting next to me. I get up, trying not to wake him, but once I am on my feet his eyes are open.

“Sorry to wake you Choco, I was just about to run some laps. Care to join me?”

Choco stretches and yawns, then stands up and begins to follow me. We spend the rest of the day exercising and making laps around Raffeux’s smallest track. At one point, I ask him to add some aurelia or obstacles, but he refuses. Every time he would say, “If you can’t best a morbol, you can’t best an aurelia.” Despite the fact that I just avoided the morbol breath, he does not relent. Perhaps it’s for the best, I’m still not feeling particularly well after the encounter with Bessie.

The day comes to a close and Choco and I head back to the cottage. We say goodnight to Kewi and Raffeux and prepare for bed.

The next day I am awoken by shouting from outside. I get dressed and open the back door to see Lunu and Raffeux nearly at each other’s throats.

Lunu has the look of a woman ready to fist fight. “I can’t believe you convinced me to bring these, it is wholly irresponsible!”

“Calm down, girl. You know as well as I do that they are perfectly safe.” Raffeux says as he waves his hand dismissively. “I’ll put them on the track myself, and I’ll see to it personally that no one else is around but the boy and the chick.”

“See to it that you do! If anyone was to be injured due to them, I would be unable to live with myself.”

By now I am only a few feet away, although it seems they don’t notice me.

“G-good morning you two.” I say sheepishly.

Lunu shoots a look of daggers at me for a moment, but her expression softens when she realizes who I am.

“Oh, good morning Rurulety. I am sorry if we woke you, Raffeux is just being his normal stubborn self.”

“What is going on? What did you bring?” I ask.

Lunu looks at Raffeux, furrowing her brow. “He somehow convinced me to bring some of the magicked item boxes from storage for you to practice with.”

Raffeux smirks. “You were the one who agreed to bring them, girl. Hells, you were the one who brought it up in the first place!”

Visibly blushing, Lunu lets out a huff and says, “You know how chatty I get after a few glasses of chilled red.”

“So it was magick! I knew it!” I say excitedly. “When can I practice?”

Raffeux laughs loudly and says, “As soon as that chocobo chick of yours gets out here.”

I didn’t even realize that Choco wasn’t with me. I turn around toward the cottage to see the door creak open and Kewi appear with Choco right behind her. Kewi runs up to us with an excited grin while Choco follows behind, wings flapping frantically.

“Oh, how exciting! I’ve never been able to see anything like this up close before!” Kewi says as she jumps up and down with Choco.

Lunu’s face is an even deeper shade of red now. After a moment of looking at the ground she stomps a foot, walks away and says, “Alright, what’s done is done. Let’s get this over with!”

We make our way to the smallest track, Kewi and Lunu stand on the sidelines as Raffeux puts one of the magicked items about a dozen yalms away.

“Alright boy, I want you and your chocobo to run right through the center of this.”

I consider asking Raffeux how to actually carry the item, as it’s nearly as large as me, but I’ve learned to keep questions to a minimum around him as he is unlikely to answer them. I look to Choco and give him a nod. We start running side by side towards the box and end up passing right through it.

Raffeux frowns as he walks up to the item and says, “I told you right through the center, boy. You and that chocobo of yours aren’t going to be racing side by side. Here, just take it.” As he picks up the item, the appearance of it changes from a chest to a small vial. He hands me the item and I can feel a slight heat all around me.

Raffeux begins explaining how the items work to me while I move the object around in my hands. “These boxes are just glamours that hide the appearance of the true item. They are enchanted so that when a chocobo runs directly through one, it is transported to the rider’s hands. To use the item, you just need to crack it open. Now, in an official race, each of the jockeys and their chocobos are registered, so the magicks always know to go to the chocobo directly ahead of you. Because we aren’t in an official Gold Saucer track, that magick will affect the person or animal closest to you. The one you have there is called Bacchus’s Water and it will send...”

The item slips through my fingers and lands on the dirt with a soft crunch. I lift my head up in horror as I see a red beam streak from my feet to Raffeux. His face immediately goes magma beet red and begins sweating profusely. My eyes go wide as I look to Choco and yell, “Run!”

Choco and I sprint around the track as fast as we can while Raffeux chases us, screaming obscenities I had never heard before. When we get around the track once, I bolt for the fence and dive through the gap, Choco jumps right over it. We cower behind Lunu and Kewi who are both laughing uncontrollably.

By now the magick has run its course and Raffeux looks exhausted and slightly less furious. “Well godsdamn me for believing you had the skill to hold something without dropping it!”

Kewi wipes a tear from her eye and manages to catch her breath. “This… this was such a great idea!”

Lunu tries to hold back laughter as her expression fights between amusement and shock. “Raffeux, are you alright?”

Raffeux takes a deep breath and then slumps to the ground. “It looks like it’s going to be a short day boy, you’ve managed to sap all the strength I had with that clumsy display.”

Still hiding behind Lunu, I peek my head out and say sheepishly, “I’m so sorry, Raffeux. Is there anything I can do to help?”

He coughs once and after a few labored breaths says, “Yeah, I have an idea boy. Go clean out the muck from the chocobo stables. That ought to keep you busy for most of the day.”

I spend the rest of the day cleaning with Choco, dreading the day that he becomes fully grown. Kewi and Lunu are needed back at the Gold Saucer, but just as the sun reaches the horizon Lunu returns to keep me company. She arrives to see me sweeping the old straw out of the stables and knocks on the side of the stable wall.

“Evening Rurulety, I hope that Raffeux hasn’t been too hard on you today.”

I set the broom I am holding against the wall of the stables and sit down in the doorway. Lunu sits next to me as I let out a sigh and say, “He has been spending most of his time recuperating in the cabin, and it’s been just Choco and me most of the day. That said, these stables were a complete sty.”

Lunu rummages through her bag and pulls out a fish shaped pastry. “I thought you might be hungry, so I brought you some food.” She hands it to me and then reaches back into her bag and pulls out a handful of greens. “And of course some greens for Choco.” Choco perks his head up at the sound of the word “greens” and practically jumps on Lunu while taking them.

I take a bite of the pastry and apple flavor fills my mouth. “This is delicious! Where did you find them?”

Lunu smiles and says, “I made them. After what happened I just felt horrible. It’s my fault that this happened in the first place.”

I shake my head as I chew on the delicious pastry. “No, I was the oaf who couldn’t hold a simple vial. I had just never seen anything like it before. I was so nervous I might drop it, that I dropped it.”

Lunu chuckles lightly, but after a moment furrows her brow. “Still, if I hadn’t let that blackguard convince me to bring those items…”

I contort my face quizzically as I gulp down another bite. “…Why did you bring them? It doesn’t seem like something you would do.”

She blushes a little and looks toward the ground. “I just wanted to help.” She pauses for a moment and twiddles her thumbs. “I’ve never seen someone so dedicated to racing as you. You treat your chocobo as if it were your own kin, you always strive to become better, and you never let setbacks keep you down.” She looks up at me. “You’re a good man, Rurulety. You are kind and you deserve to become the best racer in Eorzea. I just wanted to help make that possible.”

I am suddenly very aware of the crumbs on my cheek. I wipe my face with my sleeve as I look at her, not saying anything. After a moment my face flushes. Thankfully the silence is broken by Choco whistling and lightly pecking at Lunu’s foot, a telltale sign that he ate all of his food but is still hungry.

I laugh much too loud as I look at Choco. “Oh boy, you must be really hungry! Wait right there while I get some feed from the trough!” I jump up and run inside the stables, grab a bucket and scoop some roughage out of the trough. I return to see Lunu standing up facing me.

“I should probably go. Despite the utter debacle that was today, I’m sure that Raffeux will still insist that you practice with the magick items. It would be best for me to be here just in case.”

I drop the bucket and Choco immediately begins gorging himself. I open my mouth to say something but nothing comes out. Lunu nods once and then turns around and begins to walk away.

I shake myself out of my stupor a moment later and yell, “Lunu!”

She stops and turns around, not saying anything.

I try to think of something to say. Some time passes and I can’t think of anything better than, “See you tomorrow?”

She smiles at me. “See you tomorrow.” She turns around and continues walking away.

The next day passes relatively uneventfully. Raffeux refuses to acknowledge the incident in its entirety, and I spend the day practicing with the magicked items. The worst part is that I have to subject poor Choco to the effects of each of them so he knows what they are like. He takes it in stride, but at the end of the day when we are having dinner he spends noticeably longer time sitting next to Kewi.

Over the next few weeks we become accustomed to handling and using the item boxes. We continue to train with Bessie every once in a while, and Raffeux lets us use his obstacle course to begin practicing for a real race. Despite the fact that it has only been a few months, Choco is nearly big enough for me to ride. By now Choco is too big to sleep in my room, so we now have breakfast together out by the pit. Every few days we will get to watch some jockey train, whether it’s running from Bessie, dodging aurelia, or just running laps. Sometimes Altun himself will show up, and those days I do my best to study his every move. I also try to stay out of sight; I have learned over the few interactions we have had that Altun is quite braggadocious and discourteous. Usually when he is around Kewi or Lunu try to distract me, as I become quite agitated at his presence.

Soon enough, Choco is large enough for me to ride on, and the two of us are jumping at the chance to race. Raffeux slowly transitions us into riding by making us go over everything we had done before for the next two weeks. After another month of riding practice on top of that, he informs us that we will begin training with the aurelia.

I wake up and meet Choco right outside the cottage. Raffeux greets us at the top of the pit. “Morning boy, chocobo. It pains me to say it but you’ve made some great strides these past few months. I think you two are ready for some moving obstacles.”

I perk up at the compliment and scratch Choco’s side, as his head is now just a little too high to reach at this point. “You ready Choco?” He nods and lets out a deep whistle.

The three of us walk down into the pit and I instinctively look up to the top where Lunu and Kewi would sit.

“Your cheering squad won’t be joining us today. I don’t want them distracting you during this. Bessie might make you feel a little sick, the mandragora might scare the piss out of you, and those items might be unpleasant. None of those compare to the aurelia. Now stand back, it’s about to get crowded.”

I climb onto Choco and guide him near the stairs of the pit. Raffeux opens up the gate and a wave of aurelia flood the arena. He gingerly walks in between them, stops at the stairs, and turns to us. “You’re going to keep running until you get hit.”

I look at Raffeux in disbelief. “Until I get hit? We could be running for hours!”

Raffeux pauses for a moment. Then he lets out a deep laugh and doubles over. He regains his composure in a minute but continues laughing as he turns around and ascends the stairs.

I turn back to the mass of floating jellyfish to see one just a few ilms away. I reflexively pull the reins away from it and Choco hops backwards, making my left arm brush up against an aurelia that floats by while I’m not looking. A sharp pain runs through my side and I pull myself away from it instinctively, which makes Choco think I want to turn around. He swings around and almost runs into another one. Fortunately I am able to stop him just before touching it.

We stay stock still for a moment while the aurelia silently float around. Thankfully, Choco is mindful enough to shift to a side to avoid them when they float too close. Out of the corner of my eye I see Raffeux standing at the top of the pit looking down at me, a giant grin on his face.

“Well that was about what, 20 seconds?” He says at me while he circles around the pit towards the stairs. He pulls a whistle out of his pocket and blows on it. No sound comes out, but the aurelia shy away from him as he approaches. He herds them back through the open gate and closes it behind him.

He turns back to us with that grin still on his face, and I try my best not to wince in pain. He walks past us, chuckling. When he reaches the top of the steps he says without turning back, “Take a minute to rest. Then you can spend the remainder of the day doing laps and exercises.”

After a lengthy rest the pain fades from my arm and we spend the rest of the day running the track. The next day Raffeux sends Lunu away, but she drops off some of that amazing fish pastry. Choco and I ready ourselves in the pit and Raffeux lets the aurelia loose.

This time I am prepared. I slowly weave Choco around the floating jellyfish, making sure to watch behind me every once in a while. The aurelia aren’t very fast, but the sheer number of them combined with the fact they are virtually silent means that it is incredibly hard to track them all at once. We continue at a tonberry’s pace for a few minutes.

Raffeux shouts down at me from the top of the pit, “Having fun trotting around boy?” He then pulls out the whistle from yesterday and puts it to his lips.

The aurelia instantly begin to move away from the side he is standing on, closing in around us. As I whip my head around to find an opening, I notice at one point Choco actually brushes up against one of them but does not cry out in pain. It seems that his feathers protect him from those spines. I hunker down against Choco as flat as I can and look for the best route out of the mass of tentacles. While they don’t seem to hurt him, he definitely does not enjoy touching them, as he shrinks away from them anytime they come close.

Right as we are about to make it to the open half, Raffeux pulls the whistle away and the aurelia begin filling up the empty space again. Raffeux walks around the edge of the pit about a dozen paces and whistles again, the aurelia shying away from the inaudible sound.

We manage to narrowly escape a small horde that have seemingly tangled themselves together and after a few tricky maneuvers and more than a few close calls, we make it to the now empty side.

This time after Raffeux stops whistling, he begins again while still walking. This makes the aurelia move more erratically as they are constantly trying to get away from the source of the noise.

We dodge and weave through a few of them, but I am unable to pull myself out of the way of a stray tentacle and a spine lodges itself in my cheek. A stabbing pain courses through my face as I shut my eyes and hug Choco hard while trying to make myself as small as possible. I hear footsteps running towards me and then the sound of the gate closing. Choco begins walking and I can hear him ascend the stairs. I open one eye and see Raffeux grab at me, my cheek has nearly doubled in size. He pulls me off of Choco and sets me in a chair right outside the cottage. He pulls the spine out of my cheek, places a cloth on my face and says, “Hold that.”

He runs into the cottage for a moment, then emerges carrying a small pouch, a bowl, and some water. He pours the water and some powder from the pouch into the bowl, stirs it with his finger, pulls the cloth away from my face, applies the powder and then replaces the cloth.

Soon after the pain begins to fade and I can feel the swelling in my cheek go down.

Raffeux says, “This poultice will need a minute, but you’ll be fine boy. The swelling may take a day or two.”

I lay back in the chair and Choco lays down at my side. I stroke his back idly as Raffeux walks away again, then returns with some water for me.

“Good job, Rurulety.”

My eyes go as wide as they can and my chin drops. Did he just call me by my name?

“I’m serious. No one has done so well so quickly against the aurelia. Not even Altun.”

Despite the pain, I give a giant grin.

The next day, Lunu and Kewi greet me as I open the cottage door.

“Congratula…” They begin to say, until they see my face.

Raffeux wasn’t lying about the swelling. My face looks as if a ruby tomato is growing out of it.

“Dear gods, what happened to you?” Lunu says with a horrified look on her face.

“Looks like you fought with a nest of hornets and lost.” Kewi says with a smirk.

“The aurelia barbs are quite painful, I am living proof of that.”

“Wait here a moment.” Lunu says as she runs inside. She returns soon with a damp cloth and puts it on my face. “Raffeux sent message of how well you were doing and suggested we come to celebrate.” I can feel a flush in my cheeks.

“Raffeux said that?” I ask.

Kewi flicks her fingernails together and says, “In his own words.”

We spend the day relaxing, cooking some delicious food, and playing a few games of chocobo tag. Raffeux even joins in for the food and conversation.

Over the next few weeks, Choco and I become more and more comfortable with the aurelia. Choco pays much less attention to them now, although he is far from fond of them. Eventually we are skilled enough that I can push Choco to almost a full running speed. That night I approach Raffeux as he is closing up the stables.

“Raffeux.” I say to him as I stand in the doorway. “I have been training for quite some time now. I have beaten the morbols, I am adept with items, I know what mandragora stalks look like, I’ve spent hundreds of hours riding, and you said yourself that I’m one of the fastest learners, at least with the aurelia.”

Raffeux doesn’t affirm or deny anything. He just waits, expecting me to say more I suppose.

I furrow my brow. “I am ready to race.”

[soergel-brad]

Old Enough to Waddle, Old Enough to Race, Part I

The following story is featured in volume IV of the digital magazine “The Talefeather.”

I step off the landing to the Gold Saucer with my chocobo chick in tow. Everything here is so bright and shiny; I can barely contain my joy as we walk toward the lift to the Chocobo Square.

“Can you believe it Choco? We’re finally here, the Gold Saucer! This is where everything changes, we’re going to be the best racing team in Eorzean history!” Choco whistles back excitedly as he waddles next to me. As we reach the lift, a tall, slender Mi’qote woman greets us.

“Hello there! Are you here to experience the excitement of the Gold Saucer’s chocobo races?”

I look up at her and in my most confident voice say, “Hello ma’am, my name is Rurulety Gogolety and I’m here with my chocobo to race!”

As she looks at the two of us, her face breaks out into a wide grin. I’m pretty sure she is trying not to laugh. “Pleased to meet you, Rurulety. My name is Kewi, and I’ll lead you up to the reception desk so we can register… What’s your chocobo’s name?”

“This here is Bochoco Choco, the progenitor of the soon-to-be famous Choco line of chocobos!”

Kewi giggles aloud this time and looks at Choco. “Well hello there Bochoco! What an adorable bird you are!”

Choco lets out a satisfied wark as Kewi beckons us to the lift. After we enter, she closes the gates and we proceed up to the Chocobo Square. Once we reach the top, we exit the lift and are greeted by a tall man in a fancy suit. He takes a deep bow and puts on a kindly smile.

“Ah Kewi, always a pleasure. For what reason has your lovely presence graced the Chocobo Square today?”

Kewi’s face reddens slightly. “Always the flatterer, eh Simcock? I’m here to show this aspiring chocobo racer to the registration desk.

I straighten my back and bow in return. “Evening, my name is Rurulety Gogolety and I’m here to race Bochoco Choco here!” Choco whistles at the sound of his name.

Simcock turns slightly and extends a hand to the giant room in front of us. “Best of luck to you Rurulety.”

I nod and lead Choco with me as Kewi says goodbye to Simcock. As we enter the room, I am overwhelmed by the sheer size of it. Chocobos are everywhere, with dozens of jockeys talking to different receptionists. “Where do we go Kewi, this place is huge!”

“Over this way Rurulety!” she shouts at me from across the room. I guess I didn’t even realize she went ahead.

Choco and I hurriedly walk forward to the desk and greet the Elezen behind the counter. She smiles and pulls out a stack of papers. “I’ll just need you fill these out in triplicate and then return them to me.”

“This stack is as tall as I am!” I say as I grab the papers. Kewi laughs as she helps me carry them over to a nearby table.

“Don’t worry Rurulety, I can help.” Kewi says as she divides the stack into two. She begins to ask me questions as we fill out the papers. The task drags on for quite some time as I keep getting distracted by the comings and goings of the jockeys and the patrons. After we have finished about half the papers, I see a particular jockey that catches my eye.

A tall Au Ra man, dressed in extravagant clothes, walks through the main gate carrying a large trophy. “Kewi, who is that man? Is that the Grand Championship trophy?”

Kewi turns her head and then nods. “Yeah, that’s Altun. He is one of the best jockeys around. He’s won the Grand Championship Tournament three seasons in a row now.”

Altun is accompanied by a mob of people, all who are congratulating him and asking questions, none of which I can make out from here. At one point he laughs boisterously and raises his trophy in the air with one hand and slaps what I assume to be his chocobo on the back with the other as he says loudly, “But believe me, no one can beat me and Storm’s Eye. Isn’t that right?” The chocobo lets out a deep whistle in what I can only think is agreement.

Kewi turns to me and says, “Altun and Storm’s Eye are practically undefeated. Some say that Storm’s Eye is descended from gold chocobos.” By now the group has worked their way through the main room and entered the lounge for the jockeys.

I look down at Choco and say, “Did you see that Choco? That’s going to be us some day.” Choco whistles and flutters his wings excitedly.

Yet more time passes as we slog through the paperwork. Eventually a lalafellin woman approaches carrying a tray. “Hello there. I noticed you two had been working for quite some time and thought you would like some refreshments.” She places the tray down in between Kewi and me. On it are glasses of water, popoto pancakes and bubble chocolate.

She is slightly shorter than me, with long blonde hair pulled back in a ponytail. She has brilliant green eyes and isn’t wearing the normal garb of the Gold Saucer, instead wearing a more casual coat and plain pair of pants.

“Thanks Lulunu.” Kewi says as she begins to stuff her face with popoto pancakes. “Mmf, ifs alwahys harb to tell how hungry you are unfhill you shtar eafing.”

I grab one of the pancakes and smile at Lulunu. “Thank you very much, miss. Popoto pancakes are my favorite!”

“You’re very welcome, and please just call me Lunu.” She grabs a bowl of water off the tray and sets it down in front of Choco. He unfurls from the ball of sleep he was in and warks appreciatively, then begins to drink.

“Thank you again Lunu. My name is Rurulety Gogolety, and this is my chocobo, Bochoco Choco. We are about to be Eorzea’s most famous chocobo racing pair!”

Lunu smiles but looks a little distressed. “It’s great to see someone so excited about the races, but don’t you think that Bochoco is a little… small to race?” Choco flutters his wings in defiance as he makes laps around the table.

“I appreciate your concern Lunu, but what Choco lacks in stature, he more than makes up for it in spirit!” I say as I cheer Choco on.

Lunu stomps her foot down as she turns to Kewi, “Did you not tell him about the race requirements?”

Kewi sets down a half-eaten pancake and looks at Lunu sheepishly, “He was just so excited, I couldn’t bear to tell him.” Kewi then looks and me and continues. “Rurulety, I’m sorry, but your chocobo needs to be at least big enough for you to ride. I figured since you were so excited about the races that you would know already… But there is good news! When he gets big enough, you won’t have to fill out all this paperwork!”

I can feel my spirit drop as I slump down onto the table. Choco flutters up to the table and nudges me with his beak. I lift my arm and scratch the back of his head, my face buried in a half-eaten popoto pancake. “Choco won’t be big enough to ride for nearly a year! What will we do until then?”

I feel a hand grasp my shoulder as I hear Kewi say, “You’ll train. That’s what you’ll do. And I’m going to help you!” I look up at her to see a beaming grin on her face.

Lunu sits down in the chair across from me and nods with a smile. “My friend Raffeaux owns a training facility and track. I’m sure he wouldn’t mind you using to prepare yourself.”

I can feel my face warm up as I brush mashed popoto off my cheek. “Really? That would be amazing! Did you hear that Choco?”  I look to Choco, he is nuzzled up to Lunu, who is absentmindedly petting his back. He warks in response to his name but doesn’t seem to be paying attention. “But, what can we even do to train?”

Kewi takes her hand back and holds a finger up in the air, “Oh, I’m sure Raffeux can think of something. Lulunu, when do you think these two could start training?”

Lunu pauses for a moment and then says, “Well, given that this season’s races are ended, only exhibitions are held now, which means Raffeaux would likely be available at any time. He is practically retired at this point, so he trains few racers as it is.”

Kewi claps her hands together, “Fantastic! How about we just finish up this paperwork and spend the rest of the evening enjoying ourselves?”

I smile for a moment but then stop as I realize something. “But, don’t you two have to work?”

Lunu thinks for a moment. “Well, I suppose that is true. You are an aspiring rider correct?”

I nod.

“And you have no representation here?”

I had never thought about that before. “Representation?”

“Someone to sponsor you. Someone to help take care of scheduling your races and whatnot.”

“Oh, I thought that was up to me.”

Lunu smirks. “I suppose it could be, but nearly every racer is too busy training to do that themselves.”

I slump in my chair just a bit more. “Now I need representation? Why can’t I just race?”

Lunu chuckles for a moment. “Don’t worry! I happen to be one of the Race Managers, I can sponsor you. And since it is for work, I’m sure no one will mind me accompanying you to training.”

I sit back up and begin beaming. “That’s fantastic! Thank you so much Lunu. But Kewi, surely you must return to work?”

Kewi lets out a fairly loud laugh that catches more than one person’s attention. “I am just a pretty face here to show people around, they don’t really care what I do. Anyways, a race is about to start soon. If we hurry this paperwork we can make it in time. It’s a highly rated match, so you would do well to watch. This way you can study the competition.”

And we do just that. With Lunu helping, the rest of the papers are a breeze. I return them to the elezen at the registration desk and then Lunu, Kewi, Choco and I head to the seating area for the race.

The race holds some of the most prominent racers known to Eorzea. Fearless Moose and his blue chocobo Arctic Water, Joe and his black chocobo Teioh, and of course Altun and his rose colored chocobo Storm’s Eye.

The announcer commences the race and the chocobos burst through the opening gate. Arctic Water breaks into an early lead as he she rounds the first corner. Some chocobo I’ve never heard of named Chromium follows right behind and manages to grab a magicked item chest. The jockey opens the item and a black ball streaks from Chromium to Arctic Water. Arctic Water slows considerably for a few moments, allowing Chromium to take the lead. Meanwhile, Storm’s Eye and Teioh are in the middle of the pack. They seem to be conserving their energy for later in the race. First place trades between Arctic Water, Chromium and a newcomer named Fat Fury. But just after the three reach the midway point, a gigantic morbol slides up to the boundary fence and unleashes a horrid belch. Arctic Water, Fat Fury, and Chromium all begin to bump into each other as their heads bob in random directions. I had heard tales about the ferocity of a morbol’s breath, but had never been able to see it in person.

“Oh, that’s too bad.” Kewi says. “I really thought that Arctic Water had a good chance to win.”

Storm’s Eye and Teioh break from the pack and easily overcome the three chocobos that were leading. Near the ending stretch, it looks like Teioh is starting to get a lead. Just a moment later though, a red bolt shoots from Storm’s Eye to Teioh. Teioh begins to frantically sprint forward for a few moments, widening the gap between himself and Storm’s Eye, but soon after slows to a crawl as if exhausted. Storm’s eye gallops past Teioh and finishes in first place.

“Well, I can’t say I’m surprised.” Lunu says as she and Kewi stand to leave. “Are you coming, Rurulety?”

I realize I’ve been standing on the seat with my mouth open for some time now. “That was incredible! Were those magicks that they were casting on one another? Did you see that morbol? It was nearly as large as my cottage!” I continue to ask them questions as we return to the chocobo square entrance.

After I have calmed, Lunu tells me that she will arrange things with Raffeux tonight, gives me directions to his training grounds, and tells me that she and Kewi will meet me there at first light. I bid the two a good night and Choco and I head back home to get some sleep.

The next morning, Choco and I arrive at Raffeaux’s just in time. I thank the porter as I exit the carriage, Choco whistles as he jumps down from the top step. As we approach the front gate to the training grounds, Kewi and Lunu greet us.

“Heya Rurulety!” Kewi says as she opens the ornate, gilded gate. “Lulunu was out here waiting for you, weren’t you?” Kewi smirks as she shoots a look to Lunu.

Lunu rolls her eyes, walks up to Choco and hands him some greens. “Morning you two.” Choco chirps excitedly and munches on the greens. “Raffeaux is waiting in the ‘pit.’ I hope you are well rested!”

Lunu and Kewi lead us around the outside of the cottage into Raffeux’s training grounds. As I round the corner I see a horizon full of virtually nothing but equipment, tracks and what I can only assume is the “pit” that Lunu was talking about. It actually seems to be two pits, but the one closest has an elezen in it so that must be the one. We descend the staircase to a large open circular area with high natural walls on all sides; the only exception being the far end, which seems to be a large gate. A quite tall and wizened elezen man with a long greying beard and equally long grey hair approaches with an amiable grin on his face.

“You must be Rurulety. I’m sure by now you know my name is Raffeux.” He says with a rougher voice than I would expect.

“Pleased to meet you Raffeux.” I say as I take a deep bow. “This is my chocobo, Bochoco Choco, the progenitor of the soon to be famous Choco line of chocobos!” As pull up from my bow, I see that Raffeux is holding Choco by the scruff of the neck. Choco flails his legs wildly and whistles in distress.

“Hmm. Not much to the little chick.” Raffeux says as he examines Choco. “It’s probably too soon to tell at this point, but this doesn’t seem like the kind of chocobo you use for racing. Sure he would be fine for hauling carriages or carts around, but racing… He’s a bit of a runt.” Choco starts flapping his wings and pecking at Raffeux. Raffeux just holds Choco at a distance, rendering his attacks ineffective.

“E-excuse me! A runt? Despite what you may think about Choco, I can assure you that he is of the best racing stock and is destined to become the fastest chocobo in Eorzean history!” I shout as I reach up to grab Choco, helpless due to the undeniable height disparity between Raffeux and myself.

Raffeux seems to relent as he says, “Calm down, calm down. I’m just giving you my honest opinion. It seems you both care for one another, and you can’t win a race if your chocobo won’t run to spite you.” Raffeux hands me Choco, and Choco immediately jumps out of my arms and flutters around Raffeux’s feet, pecking at his legs. Raffeux lets out a hearty laugh. “I’ll tell you this boy, what your Choco here might not be able to do with his legs, he sure can make up for it with moxie.”

After a few moments Choco manages to calm down and return to my side. “So, where do we begin?” I ask.

Raffeux smirks and says, “Eager as your chick I see. Very well, since we are quite unable to begin riding, let’s work on some of the less obvious aspects of the race.” He turns away to walk toward the far end of the pit and continues. “Kewi, Lunu, you two best exit before Bessie arrives. Boy, you and Choco are going to work on your timing and reflexes today. Most likely for the next few weeks.” He reaches the gate on the opposite side and I notice that Kewi and Lunu are practically sprinting up the stairs behind me.

“Good luck Rurulety!” They both cheer to me from atop the wall.

Raffeux pulls a lever attached to the side of the gate, with a horrible grinding noise the gate begins to open. My legs begin to waiver as I see the beast that approaches through the doorway.

On the opposite side of the pit stands Raffeux and one of the largest morbols I have ever seen. Raffeux smiles as he looks at me and absent-mindedly scratches the morbol. “I’m sure you’ve watched a chocobo race or two, right boy?”

I nod my head hesitantly. Choco is behind me cowering in a ball.

Raffeux continues, “Of course you have. So you know that the Gold Saucer makes liberal use of morbols in their races. This here is Bessie, and she is going to be your training partner for the time being. Those that know of morbols are bound to know of the horrid breath they carry. Your job now is to find out how to avoid that breath.” Raffeux gives Bessie a firm pat on the side and she starts to slink towards us. “Good luck boy! Oh and don’t think that just running around is going to do the trick!” He shouts as he walks through the gate.

A moment later the gate closes and it’s just Bessie, Choco and myself. I scoop Choco into my arms and face down the hulking monster. Bessie gets within about 10 yalms of us and then stops. I can feel the sweat in my palms, as I know what happens next. Bessie sucks in a gigantic breath, closes her mouth for a moment, then opens it again and lets out a putrid cloud of gas. In a panic, I bolt in the opposite direction, almost tripping over myself.

But I am too slow. The cloud washes over me like a tide of dead, rotting dhalmel. I try to curl up into a ball to protect Choco, but it doesn’t seem to help. He lets out a low whistle and promptly passes out. After a few moments of trying to crawl to the stairs, I follow suit.

I hear muffled pounding noises and voices approach.

“Poor kid, they always seem to run away.”

“He’s going be okay right? He really got a mouthful.”

“Oh he’ll be fine, it’s a special stock of morbol. All the bark, none of the bite. He may be a bit nauseated though.”

I feel myself get lighter as they talk. Then a scraping noise and a click.

I wake up some time later in a comfortable bed, Choco wrapped up in a ball next to me.

“Hello?” I ask as I sit up and look around. The room is fairly plain, with just a painting of Raffeux and a chocobo hanging on the wall. Aside from the bed, there is only a desk and chair. A moment later, Lunu appears in the doorway.

“Are you alright? You took a frightful tumble once that breath hit you.” She says with a worried look on her face.

“Yeah, somehow I feel fine.” I nudge Choco awake. He opens his eyes and lets out a small yawn. “What happened?”

“You passed out, we carried you back here to recuperate.”

After wiping the sleep from my eyes, anger begins to set in. “What was that! Did that old man just want to see me sweat and panic? Does he just enjoy watching people suffer? Why didn���t either of you warn me that he is some old curmudgeon that likes to torment innocent jockeys?”

Lunu looks a little annoyed. “Raffeux is one of the best trainers ever. There is a reason he does what he does. And if we had told you that he was going to make you run from a morbol, would you really have believed that?”

I look down at my hands. “I suppose I wouldn’t.”

“Raffeux told you that you are working on reflex and timing, right? What better way to gauge your reflexes than to throw you into the thick of it blindly?”

I can hear footsteps, and a moment later Raffeux is right behind Lunu. She steps out of the way and he enters the room. He grabs the chair, pulls it up to the side of the bed, sits down, and then looks at me with a smirk. “Good job boy. You followed your instincts and tried your best to protect yourself and your chocobo. Now, you can probably tell that was the wrong move, but you made it farther than most ever do. Woke up faster than most too. You’ll get used to the smell in no time.” He stood up and began to walk out of the room. “Get some rest, tomorrow is going to be a lot like today.”

“…Get used to it?” I say as I fall back into my pillow. Choco nudges my arm up over his head and chirps quietly.

Lunu walks up to the bed. “…I’m sorry I didn’t warn you, Rurulety. Raffeux is a stubborn man and made me promise to let him train you in his exact way.” She puts her hand on my head and my face starts to feel flush. “You look to be in good health. If you would like, Kewi is making roast dodo. I thought we could eat and then I could give you a proper tour of the grounds.”

“Umm… y-yeah. That would be great!” I feel a smile spread across my face.

Lunu smiles and nods her head. “Good! Then I will see you outside. Just go through these doors. To the left there is a hall that leads straight outside. Don’t rush, I know how terrible that breath can be.”

Lunu leaves the room and I look at Choco as he sleeps under my arm. I decide that a little bit more rest would be good.

After some time I wake up. “Oh no! Choco, get up!” I scramble off the bed, nearly falling flat on my face. Choco wakes from his nap with a start and hops into the air, clumsily “flying” off the bed. “Hurry up Choco, who knows how long they have been waiting.”

We rush out the door and down the hall. As I slam the door open I can see that it hasn’t been too long, the sun shines right down on me. Kewi and Lunu are sitting on the edge of the pit watching something.

“I’m so sorry, I must’ve dozed off when I laid back down.” I say as Choco and I approach.

“Oh don’t worry yourself, Rurulety.” Kewi says as she raises a hand. “You’re just in time to watch Altun train.” She and Lunu beckon me to take a seat. I sit next to Lunu, my feet hanging off the edge as Choco lays down in my lap.

Down in the pit is Altun, Storm’s Eye, and a veritable mob of floating tentacles. He is flawlessly weaving Storm’s Eye through the pack, more graceful than Nymeia the Spinner is with a loom.

“What are those things?” I ask.

“Those are aurelia. They are used often in the tracks at Limsa Lominsa. They carry quite a nasty sting if you are unlucky enough to brush against them.” Lunu says as she taps her lap with her hands. Choco raises his head, leaves my lap and climbs onto hers.

After about 15 minutes of Altun doing laps around the pit with the aurelia moving constantly, the gate opens, Raffeux emerges, and the aurelia slowly float through the gate. Altun dismounts Storm’s Eye, completely untouched.

“My thanks Raffeux. I felt my edge dull the past few races, I greatly appreciate the practice.” Altun says as he clasps Raffeux’s hand.

“Your ‘dulled edge’ is sharp enough to split a hair. You know you are always welcome, friend.” Raffeux says.

I get up and run around the pit, down the stairs and up to Altun. Kewi and Lunu shout something to me but I’m too excited to hear it. “Excuse me, Altun? My name is Rurulety Gogolety and that up there is my chocobo, Bochoco Choco.” I point up to Choco who is currently eating greens out of Lunu’s hand. “We were just watching you train. That was incredible!”

Altun smirks and says, “Ah, so you’re training under Raffeux eh? Do I have competition to worry about here Raffeux?”

Raffeux lets out a deep guffaw that lasts far too long. When he finally stops laughing he responds. “I think your title will be safe for some time, friend.”

I try my best to ignore Raffeux. “I know that you are most likely very busy training, but could you please spare any advice for an aspiring jockey?”

“Sorry, little guy. I’m pretty busy. If you’d like an autograph or something, I could help you. But I can’t spend my time helping every wannabe jockey and his bird. Come on Storm’s Eye, let’s do laps. Best of luck to you, little guy.”

Altun takes Storm’s Eye by the reins and pulls the lever to the gate. It opens and they walk through. I stand, indignant at Altun’s response.

Kewi jumps off the wall into the pit and Lunu walks around and down the stairs with Choco in hand. Kewi crouches down next to me and puts her hand on my shoulder. “Sorry Rurulety. Lulunu and I tried to warn you but you must not have heard.”

Lunu reaches the bottom of the stairs with an angry look on her face. “Raffeux! How could you be so rude! You know how Altun is and you did nothing to defend Rurulety!” She walks right past me and sets Choco down on the ground at Raffeux’s feet. Choco flaps his wings angrily and begins to peck at Raffeux’s legs.

Raffeux scratches his head. “The man was just telling the truth. There is a reason he is the best. His life is training.” He looks down at me. “You want to prove him wrong, boy? Then let’s get back to it.”

Raffeux is right. My face hardens and I nod emphatically. “Alright, enough relaxing. Let’s do it.” I look to Kewi and Lunu. “Thank you for defending me you too, but Raffeux is right. I have to focus on training. Raffeux, bring out Bessie.”

Raffeux looks a bit taken aback for a moment, but soon a smile plays across his face. “Haha, that’s the zeal that I had been looking for!”

Lunu and Kewi make their way back up to the wall of the pit to watch. Raffeux walks to the far end of the pit to open the gate. He lets out a whistle and calls for Bessie. I notice this time that Choco isn’t cowering behind me. He’s standing next to me, head up and alert.

Raffeux pulls the lever and the gate begins to slide open. Lunu and Kewi are now at the top of the pit, cheering Choco and me on. Bessie slides through the gate and Raffeux gives her a pat on the side.

“You ready Choco?” Choco whistles back to me.

Raffeux goads Bessie forward and then exits through the gate. As Choco and I stare Bessie down, I brace myself… and prepare to hold my breath.

[soergel-brad]

Loss

My heart beat in my throat from the strain of running faster than I thought I ever could. Weaving through the trees I felt like the world was spinning under me. The beats behind us never slowed, a faint squishing sound accompanied it as the beasts chased, their failing flesh unable to stand the constant movement. I glanced over my shoulder as I ran and a half a dozen glossy eyes stared back. Wiping the image from my thoughts I turned my view ahead, seeing a break in the trees.

"House, right ahead! Looks like it might have power too." Russ shouted to me. He looked ready to faint, carrying her all this way was too much for him, especially at this pace.

"Go ahead; I'll give you a second." I waved and shouted at the monsters hoping it would divert their attention solely to me. Looking back I saw that one hadn't broken away to follow. Unthinking, I reached for the nearest stone and threw at the creature as hard as I could. It feebly fell a few meters short, striking a tree. The noise was thankfully enough to distract it though, and I saw Russ enter the house with her. He closed the door behind him and watched me from the window next to it. I could tell he wanted to help but I knew he couldn't. I led my pursuers in a wide circle back toward the house and pushed myself forward as hard as possible. My chest tightened as I wheezed every breath, gliding across the ground like a terrified rabbit. Russ waved me on as he opened the door, ready to shut it the moment I entered. The objects in front of me blurred as I tumbled through the entrance. As I fell to the ground and turned, Russ pushed the door shut on the snout of one of the beasts. Its jaw tried to slip forward, snapping mindlessly at the air in front of it. Bracing myself against the floor, I put all my weight into a kick, forcing the things' mouth out of the doorway, a chunk of meat fell to the floor as the door clipped its nose. The abominations clawed at the door relentlessly, never making a sound aside from the endless scratching.

"That door is pretty solid, and they seem to be pretty stupid so I don't think we have to worry about the windows." Russ offered his hand as I slowly stood.

"Thanks." I tried to catch my breath as I remembered, "Where is she?"

Russ gave me a small smirk. "Don't worry, she's right here." His large frame moved to the side. She was dirty, pale and horrified, but otherwise looked fine. It wasn't until I saw her that my chest loosened. I smiled for the first time that day.

"You're alright?" I held her arms tight as she looked down. Her long black hair was filthy and covered most of her face, but she was still the most beautiful thing I had seen. One uncovered eye peered up at me in response. "Good. We need to look around here for anything useful. Are you hungry?"

She nodded slightly. I let out a deep sigh of relief. "Me too." I replied as I forced a weak smile. "Now I need you to stick next to me, and don't leave my side." She raised her head as if to say something, but a moment later decided against it.

Russ had already walked into the adjoining room, a small kitchen. The place was surprisingly tidy, only cupboards with food in them had been opened, many others with flatware and dishes kept completely intact. Russ was inspecting the refrigerator as we approached. An awful stench came from the appliance.

"That light I thought might have been power? Just a candle. That and the lamps from the sidewalk. This food is all junked." He closed the door as I noticed the sound of the beasts outside disappear.

"A candle? Someone is here?" The thought of another person scared me almost as much as whatever was chasing us moments ago.

"I glanced into the other room, it looked empty. The candle had probably been burning for a while too. It was almost completely melted." Russ kept searching cupboards as he talked to me. "HA!" A wide grin spread across his face as he pulled a sleeve of crackers into my view. He threw them to me and grabbed another for himself. I tore them open recklessly, ecstatic to eat something, anything. Half the sleeve fell into my hand and I handed them to her. The other half I funneled directly into my mouth. She lightly giggled watching me, which reflexively made me smile, making it that much harder to eat the dry pile of crumbs in my mouth.

After choking the crackers down, I stood with her for a moment as she gingerly ate each cracker one by one. I smiled, enamored just watching her. As Russ left to investigate the next room, I glanced out the window next to the door we entered. The things chasing us had disappeared. A minute later I heard a call.

"You should come in here. Just you."

My smile faded. "I'll be right back, I promise. Just stay right here and everything will be fine." She was visibly nervous but more confident than I had seen her in a long time.

I kissed her on the forehead before I walked into the room Russ called me to. It was a fairly large open space, a few pieces of furniture and an old television decorated the floor. Generic paintings and what looked like family pictures populated the walls. There was a door leading outside and a staircase next to it leading to the second floor. Russ blew out the candle he mistook for a light. Based on its size, it must've been burning for a few hours. The streetlights outside gave off more than enough illumination to see, but I couldn't help but wonder why he would put out the only light in the room.

"I found us a weapon." He said as he turned to me and gestured at the couch.

And then I understood. How I didn't notice it right away was beyond me. The low light obscured any distinguishing features the body would have. Gore lightly painted the couch, a pool of sticky, drying blood rested on either sides of the animals' wounds. After a moment it registered as a man, middle aged. Aside from that his only defining feature in my eyes was the tunnel through his temple. A large, shiny pistol sat in his right hand, it's only imperfection a small spatter of blood. Russ wrested the gun from the hand, it seemingly unwilling to give it up just yet.

"I'm not bringing her in here." I said quietly.

"I'll grab some blankets to cover it up, the only other exit is in here and we sure as hell aren't going back the way we came." A very faint knocking sound came from above. Russ and I both looked up to see if it would repeat. A few moments later the sound returned, this time erratic. I looked at Russ for a long moment.

"I'll g-" he started as I interrupted. "No, I'll check it out." He looked so worn from running while carrying her; it would be a miracle if he could make it up the stairs.

"Take this then." He handed me the pistol. "You can use it right?"

"Yeah I can manage. Make sure that she's OK and don't let her out of your sight for a second." He nodded consent and walked to the kitchen.

I took a deep breath, trying horribly to calm myself. The stairs in front of me seemed to grow as I approached them and I had to hold on to the railing just to keep myself from falling over. As I reached the top I felt a slight breeze flow through the hall. Four doors littered the hallway, with only one of them opened. I slowly walked to the open door as I felt my grip on the pistol tighten. As the room came into view three things came to my attention. The window on the far side of the room was open, there was some kind of decoration hanging from the window that beat against the sill as the wind blew, and there were two people in the room. A man slumped against the wall with blood covering his abdomen, and a woman hunched over the man, silently crying into the mans' chest. My eyes adjusted to the dim light as I crept forward. I wanted to console the woman, to let her know that she wasn't completely alone.

"Everything is going to be fine. My friends and I can help you, if you want we can..." By now I had gotten a few feet closer and could see that she wasn't crying. Her hands weren't at her face to hide any tears. She tilted her head at me slowly as I started talking. Viscera and blood hung from her mouth, the man's stomach was agape with his remains. She turned from the man to me, slowly crawling in my direction. The same glass eyes from the beasts outside met my own. I backed away as fast as I could, gripping the pistol in my sweaty hands. I raised it at her and pulled the trigger, my aim slipping from my slick hands. The bullet flew effortlessly through the wall behind her as she seemed to gain momentum from my failure. Unable to take another shot, I backed into the hallway and slammed the door in the woman's face. Without skipping a beat I ran down the stairs, tumbling down the last few.

She and Russ met me at the doorway. "Are you alright?" He looked concerned and angry.

"Yes, but we have to leave. Now. There's a thing up there. I shut it inside a room, but it's not safe here."

"That's fine. There's a truck outside and now that you're back I can hot wire it so we can get the hell out of here."

Russ went outside and headed for the truck as I turned to her. "Are you OK?" I asked instinctively. She nodded lightly. She looked paler than before with an expectant look on her face. "Don't worry, I'm fine." I breathlessly announced. I knew it wouldn't comfort her but it was the best I could manage.

Russ slammed the truck door closed and walked halfway to the house entrance.

"It works!" He quietly shouted as he waved his arms to get my attention. I let out a small smile, knowing we could finally be safe, if only for a little while.

"Are you ready? We're gonna jump in this truck and get so goddamn far away from here that you aren't even going to remember any of this by the time we get there." That made her smile a bit, I could see in her dark eyes that she was hopeful.

Outside, I heard the sound of shattering glass as the hood of the truck caught fire. A moment later a bottle with a lit rag flew towards Russ, missing him by no more than a meter. It shattered on the walkway to the house and lit up the yard. A large SUV pulled up to the side of the road and few men and a woman emerged, fully armed.

"What the fuck!" Russ shouted as he turned away from us to the strangers.

"Get your hands up!" one of the men screamed.

"How about you shut the fuck up and tell me why the fuck you tried to light me on fire!"

"Get your goddamn hands up!" The man repeated.

"I get my hands up, you all do the same! I've been through fucking hell; I'm not going to get shot to death after this!" Russ snapped.

All I could think was, "They're going to kill him if I don't go out there and calm him down." But they could kill me too. I can't put her in danger like that. I turned to her and mustered the most confident face I could manage.

"I need to help Russ, take this." I put the gun in her hand. "If anything happens to us, wait in the kitchen for them to leave and then get in that truck and drive away. If they come in the house, go out the back door and climb a tree. You can do that right?" Her eyes watered as she nodded.

"I know you can do it." I smiled a genuine grin at her, just happy that I could be with her at that moment.

I walked outside to interrupt their conversation, my hands up in the air. "Russ, calm down."

Russ turned to me and stared for what seemed like hours, and then he slowly raised his hands. "What the fuck do you fuckers want?"

The man that had been talking approached Russ. "Jake thought you were one of the monsters at first. That's where the Molotov’s came from."

"Yeah well obviously we aren't." I interjected.

"That may be, but how do we know you won't be soon enough. Get down here."

I slowly walked toward them until I was beside Russ. Two of the men circled us as they eyed us up and down. Then they started handling us like a kid with a toy. After a minute or so one of them spoke up.

"They're clean, no bites, no weapons."

The front man relaxed his pose as everyone lowered their weapons. "I sincerely apologize for how this has gone over; we just had to make sure you weren't a threat. What are you two doing in this place?"

"We were looking for a way out of here, planned on taking that truck." Russ replied, still visibly upset.

"Well that truck should still be OK, those fires don't burn very hot and it seems it barely hit." One of the men pulled a small fire extinguisher out of the SUV and put out the flames on the hood.

Russ walked to the driver's side of the truck and opened the door, turned the key and started the engine. A slight smirk showed on his face. "Looks like we're still in business. You're lucky." He glared at the group.

"Where are you headed?" I asked.

The woman spoke up, "We're situated a few miles away, we come out here to resupply and look for people. We stopped finding anyone days ago though. There was a family in that house that wouldn't leave no matter what we told them."

"None of them made it." My mind snapped at me. "We have one other, do you mind if we come with you, at least to get our bearings?"

The front man gave me a stern look. "That's fine, but if you come, you have to pull your own weight."

I was already on my way back to the door when he finished, deciding I didn't really need to respond, I pulled open the screen door, my face glowing with renewed hope.

"Get ready beautiful! Because we're going on vaca...tion." She looked just like she always did. Gorgeous, quiet, reserved. But there was more as well. Sad, defeated. "Did you hear me? Everything is going to get better from here on."

Then I saw it on the floor. The woman from upstairs, her head caved in, her arms reaching out toward something she could never grasp. Her glass eyes staring like always.

"No. no no no."

I noticed her looking down at the ground. I did the same and saw her legs, a bloodied gash taken out of her right calf.

"But... The gun?"

She shook her head and handed it to me. It was empty.

"No no no. I'm so sorry." Her eyes watered at the sound of my cracking voice. I turned and slammed the door open. "You need to help me! We need help!"

Russ ran up instantly. "What is it?" He looked past me at her. "...Shit."

"She'll be fine; we just need to get her to a hospital." I scrambled out as I grabbed her hand.

"We can't.. you know we can't." Russ was acting crazy. He knew she would be fine, why would he say that?

I looked at her and smiled, "Don't worry at all, everything will be fine. I promise. Are you ready to go?" She was so blurry now, my heart was back in my throat, my chest even tighter than before.

I felt hands on me as I blinked. People were apologizing as I floated away from her. She was so sad. "She'll be OK! You have to listen to me!" My vision grew blurry again as she became smaller and smaller. The last thing I saw was her sad smile, like she was trying to apologize to me.