The Auric Insignia (8 page)

     Roarke looked at Ama, who with a clenched jaw and a thousand mile stare seemed to relive some painful memory that plagued him still to this day. Even if Roarke didn’t know the full story, he pitied him. Seeing where Roarke’s eyes rested, Plista once again spoke.

     - As you can see, the wound dealt by Gota was not just upon this land and onto the victims so far, it is also alive within the minds and hearts of the remaining members of our decree.

     A smaller and more dainty version of Ama, but colored in rust orange with a fluffy tail ending in white, approached his bigger brother. His sharp features arranged in an expression of compassion as he laid a clawed hand on the bigger Kappas shoulder. Like an electric shock had pulled him from his nightmare, Ama jerked around and took the consoling hand in a vice like grip. For half a second, Roarke thought a fight was going to break out, before Ama’s mind refocused on the present, and upon seeing all eyes on him, quickly vanished through the golden pillars that surrounded them.

     - Ama!

     - Let him go, Refaz, his plight is one of memory, he will seek solace in the hunt.

     A howl cut through the trees, through rocks and through bones, as Ama called out into what was quickly becoming a dark night. Fainter howls responded and shared in the sad musical that their cries created.

     - What happened to him?

     Nobody said anything until the Kappa with the red brown coat decided to take tone.

     - Among the Kappa, three brothers were inseparable. Ama, the eldest, me, the middle, and the runt of the litter, Racka.

     His stoic face was split in a sad smile like he was remembering happier times, now long lost.

     - Racka was the dreamer of us three, his head always in the clouds and Gota used that to his advantage. Whispering dark promises of grandeur, he bent Racka to his will. When the betrayal became known and conflict arose, it became clear that Racka had had a key role, Gota’s most loyal, his right hand, in the tipping of the scales of balance. As the self proclaimed protector, Ama blamed himself for losing his dear brother to evil, so much so that he sought up Racka during the battle, pleading to him to see the error of his ways. Racka, no longer the jolly baby brother, attacked Ama, scarring his face as well as his soul.

     Since that day, Ama covered his heart in the thickest of hides, letting nothing out, and no one in. His mind set to never again fail as he had before. That Roarke, is what happened,  and that is why he hates humans so.

     Roarke couldn’t really blame him, even is he himself had had no part in it, he understood. Knowing himself he would probably have acted the same way if their roles had been reversed. After all, any human who loses a loved one to the desperate hunger of a wolf, will grow to hate all wolves.

     - For what it’s worth, I understand, and I’m, I am sorry for what happened.

     Warm smiles from the Kappas present met his statement, Roarke even thought Korri looked proud. Refaz, who had had the most somber expression before, seemed touched by the sentiment.

     - Well Roarke, that in itself proves that one cannot judge all by the actions of some, and I thank you for it.

***

An arduous and ambitious plan

Roarke woke up to a rogue sunbeam viciously dancing across his face with seemingly no remorse in regards tohiss disrupted sleep. He opened his eyes to see the place he had been offered as sleeping quarters the night before, after the meeting had drawn to a close. A low tree, in comparison, with wisteria colored leaves and a smooth dark trunk that was one of three growing in a constellation. Korri had explained that the whole tree closed like a flower at night, only to stretch and blossom as the sun once again began its ascent. Like a caring mother holding its child, the Mismi tree, as Korri had called them, created soft beds of padded leaves inside the giant bud. Roarke saw that Korri hadn’t been pulling his leg as the tree looked distinctly different in the morning dew, than it had the last time he had laid eyes on it. Branches like arms, stretched for a taste of the early morning sun.

     All except for the ones that made up his bedding, like they knew he was still there, they had remained so as to not make him fall. Roarke was further astonished as he tiredly began to stir, and the tree responded by lowering his platform to the forest floor, enabling his disembarkment. He stumbled a few steps before his sense of balance joined the rest of him in the land of the living, squinting, he looked around him and realized he didn’t remember where he had come from, furthermore he didn’t know where Korri was and therefore decided to wait where he was.

     - Well....

     Sitting down in a patch of pink flowers, the fuchsia left the ground in a cloud of pollen, covering him in a pink glitter and getting in his airways.

     - Cough... That can’t be good.

     - That color looks good on you.

     - Wha...

     An Idu fruit whistled through the air before hitting him right in the face.

     - Ippan! We agreed we would shout “think fast” first!

     Roarke wiped his face of the exploded fruit as he saw the comical duo from the day before, step into view.

     - Good morning...

     - And to you as well, Roarke. You know, Ippan and myself were catching up on our innuendo game this morning, when we thought of you.

     Feeling his face grow increasingly sticky and stiff in junction with the juice drying, Roarke gave a grimaced smile as Marel and Ippan joined him on the ground.

     - I’m flattered.

     - As well you should be, not a lot takes precedence over innuendo-morning.

     - I’m sorry, maybe I’ve gotten all this wrong but don’t you, you know, have any duties?

     - You mean besides brightening everyone’s day with our acquired taste of mirth?

     - I thought that went without saying...

     - We might be Kappas, some even call us champions, if that’s your thing, Ippan and I certainly won’t object. However, we don’t micromanage the lives of every member in our respective species. Kappas are more about the bigger picture and other deep stuff like that.

     - “and other deep stuff”, got it.

     - But enough about us, how did the meeting go last night? Me and Ippan would have gone ourselves but it’s just not...

     - Yes?

     - Not our scene, if you will.

     - I could see that. Anyway, it went fine I guess. I mean it’s not everyday you’re told you’re part of a plague killing the world under the clandestine rule a some super man.

     - Super man?

     - Sorry?

     - Super man, I mean, isn’t that a little bit on the nose? There’s no mystique, no flair, you know? Never mind, go on.

     - Well, I guess its just an uncomfortable truth is all.

     - Those are the worst kind, aren’t they?

     - Appreciate the support.

     - Don’t sweat it. Human sweat right?

     - We have been known to do that on occasion, it’s true.

     - Told you Ippan, I win.

     Ippan answered by distorting his face into a grimace, which in turn started a passionate, theatrical battle between the duo, every new face more bizarre than the one before. Roarke couldn’t help but smile at the charade playing in front of him, his spirit lifted.

     - So these are the “brothers of a nicer variety”?

     It was Korri, she had arrived unnoticed during the duo’s enacted farce and now she was standing behind them, shaking her head at the same time as she was biting her lip so she wouldn’t smile.

     - Marel and Ippan, the brothers of a nicer variety, has a good ring to it, doesn’t it, Ippan?

     The giant looked to be tasting the words before he finally gestured his approval.

     - Hey.

     - Hi. Hey guys, mind if I steal Roarke away from the show?

     - No problem, we’ll be here all week.

     - Great.

     Roarke stood up and started to move over towards Korri who had already started walking, headed for their destination.

     - Hey Roarke!

     - Yeah?

     - Just so you know, as far as plagues go, you’re okay.

     Roarke smiled as he continued walking away to the sound of the funny face-battle of the ages resuming with fervor.

     - So what now?

     She handed him an Idu fruit she had been holding.

     - Here’s breakfast, you can eat it on the way but try to actually get some in your mouth this time. I have something to show you.

     - You saw that?

     - No, but I see your face right now.

     - What do you mean?

     - The juice from the Idu goes from transparent to opaque when it dries, you have a bad case of gold face going on.

     Roarke cursed the duo for knowingly letting his embarrassing appearance go by unremarked as he imagined them laughing at his folly.

     - We are coming up on a spring, so you can wash it off.

     - Great, I’d appreciate it.

     - We thought about doing this yesterday but we need the light to do it justice.

     Roarke’s interest was piqued but he decided to downplay his excitement.

     - Okay.

     They kept walking, going by the road leading to the hot springs, they crossed the brook that slithered like a snake through the forest, but not before stopping to let Roarke wash his now itching face.

     - It’s so cold!

     - It starts way up in the mountains as a large river, before splitting up into smaller streams like this one.

     They crossed the border that separated Braida from the surrounding wilderness and set off west from there. Just as Roarke was going to ask if they still had a long way to go, Korri stopped.

     - We’re here, well sort of.

     Roarke felt utterly and completely underwhelmed. In front of them stood a tree, a great tree, but compared to the things he had seen lately, he couldn’t help but feel it was a bit anticlimactic.

     -Eh, where’s here exactly?

     - You’ll see at the top.

     Displaying her agility, Korri launched herself into a spin, landing several feet up on the trunk of the tree, after which she used her claws to quickly scale it. Before Roarke could really decide what to do, she had already vanished from his sight.

     - And how do you think I was going to get up there!?

     His question rang unanswered between the giants looming over him. As opposed to the trees within the Braida, that grew in a way that facilitated climbing for someone as ill-equipped as Roarke, these trees offered no such aid.

     - Great.

     He heard a sound, a sound he recognized, it was the song of a blackbird. Roarke looked around, trying to spot the singing avian, but with no luck. Thankful that Marel and Ippan wasn’t there to mock his feeble human senses, he continued searching but to no avail. The sound rang again, this time closer and even more beautiful than before. He gave locating the source one last chance and this time he saw it, a black shape that was barely made visible by the dark green background. Hanging in the wind, the shape turned in the air, maneuvering between the trees, coming ever closer, at high speed.

     - That’s not a bird....

     As it came closer Roarke could see that his eyes had deceived him, as the shape far exceeded the size of any blackbird. Like a jet black arrow, it shot down towards where he was standing, speed blurring all details as it descended. Just before it would have crashed into the ground, it turned slightly, subtly changing its trajectory, making the would-be crash a swift landing instead. The flying Kappa was the size of a human, standing slightly shorter than Roarke himself, he saw as it stretched to its full height from its initial landing pose. A slim female body standing confidently on the clawed feet of a bird. Her body was covered in the black feathers that had caused Roarke’s initial confusion as to her nature. Completely black eyes were drawn into focus by the yellow rings that encircled them. Starting at these rings, red stripes of feathers ran by the temples, before finally ending in a spiky windswept pixie cut, comprised of feathers in equal parts scarlet red and coal black. Feathery wings that looked like they had been chiseled from onyx, grew from her back, stretching to their full length of what Roarke guessed must have been at least fourteen feet, before folding in on themselves. Her aureolin talons dug their powerful claws into the earth, flexing in and out, like they were eager to close around something with a bit more substance.

     - So you’re the new one, eh?

     - New one?

     - You don’t know yet?

     The constant mysteries started to get to Roarke, leading to him answering with more heat than he had intended.

     - Know what!?

     The Kappa looked like she was unmoved by his vehement outburst and answered with a chuckle.

     - You’ll see, big boy.

     - “You’ll see”, is that the official Kappian motto or something?

     Instead of answering him, the Kappa once again spread her wings and took a hold of Roarke’s arm, whilst at the same time bending her knees in preparation for what came next.

     - Are you ready, big boy?

     - What, no!

     As the last vowel came screaming from Roarke’s lungs, they set off. Seemingly unaffected by the extra weight, the winged woman shot off at great speed, with Roarke hanging on for dear life with the arm that had been granted something to grip. They rose quickly and without hesitation, Roarke watching, powerless, as the canopy up above grew closer. Seeing a space that Roarke had not, his far more excited flying companion tilted in the air, neatly passing through the opening to the open sky above. Like diving into a completely new world, Roarke was greeted by the sun’s warm rays, unobstructed by the forest roof that now acted like the ground, in this new world of clouds and open sky. Not stopping there, they continued upwards before, after an aerial pirouette, Roarke’s heart skipped a beat as he felt the previously iron tight grip on his arm loosened.

     He was falling, falling without hindrance. Panicking, he grasped after something to slow his currently destructive pace, but found nothing but thin air. Before his mind could reorganize in coherent thoughts, he felt two hands firmly grab him before calmly leveling out, initiating a slow, graceful landing on some sort of construct integrated with one of the tops of a tree.

     - I asked you to please bring him up here, not scare him half to death.

     - He looked a bit pale so I thought I’d give him some fresh air.

     - You will have to forgive Stari, Roarke. She often forgets to view things from the perspective of someone who does not have wings.

     - Oh Plista please, he was in no danger, I had it under control.

     - He did not know that though, did he?

     Stari bashfully kicked loose a dead twig and mumbled a half sincere apology. Roarke was standing on his knees, holding on to a branch with both hands, barely paying attention to what was being said. His hands were wringing the wood in his hands, staining it with sweat as his heart still pounded fast.

     - Roarke?

     - Uh, yeah?

     - What are you doing?

     - Nothing.

     Korri went up to Roarke and squatted by his side, taking his hands from their security, holding them in hers.

     - Don’t.

     - Don’t what?

     - I’m, I’m scared, okay? I’m fucking scared of heights.

     - Roarke?

     - Yeah?

     - Scared together, right? Trust me.

     She slowly pulled him to his feet, and after a while, she released her hold on him.

     - Look around you.

     Tentatively, he loosened his stiffened muscles to see that they were standing on a platform, similar to the nests he had seen before, within Braida. Dead logs and branches were lodged together to create a solid floor which eased his panic. Present, beside Roarke himself, were only three, Korri, Plista, the wise Kappa from the day before, and Stari, the daredevil Kappa of blackbirds.