After we won against the crab, I had been expecting to return to the inn with several hundred pounds of crab with a celebratory crab roast, however instead I returned to find what seemed to be something wrong with my system. The good news was that Jax, Selene, and Little fox as Jax had called her were done with their quest. The bad news however was the fact 8 people from the Stormcaller tribe had been killed and we had gained 8000 XP from their deaths.
Normally, for enemies, and anything like that, the XP would have been exorbitant higher. However in terms of those with a system they only ever granted someone 1000 XP upon death. In this way some speculated it was a deterrent, why spend the effort to fight people who have a good chance of killing you for such a low amount of XP when a monster much weaker granted several times that amount.
As we drove up I saw Jax and Selene outside the city walls. They were standing at the edge of what seemed to be a large patch of twisting vines, small white flowers growing from them as even from here I could see the thorns on them. Selene had her left arm out as it was covered in thick muscular like plates that seemed to be warding off several thorns that tried to cut at her while Jax spoke in Natural to the thorns as if they would listen, however as we approached I saw that to my surprise it was Little fox who stood in the center of the thorns, a strange look of rage on her face as her teeth were bared and her hackles raised. She was yelling something in Natural I couldn't understand as I brought the car to a stop as Victor, Liora, Thalia, and I stepped out. A bit to our surprise, Little fox jumped from her rosevine circle and darted over to us, hiding behind us as she seemed to be looking around as if looking for how to say something before she said.
"Jax, bad, much little, gone. Jax gone little."
I looked down at Little fox, surprised to see how scared she was when she looked at Jax and Selene, and to her credit, as Jax turned around I could see blood covered around his mouth and his paws. He sat with an almost sad look on his face as Selene looked between Jax and us, as if unsure of what to do. I had Little fox slide back to Thalia as I began to step forward.
"Be Scared, Jax gone much."
Little fox said as I nodded, still unsure of what happened and stepped forward.
"Jax, dude, you're covered in blood and Little fox who was practically clinging to you before is literally shaking, what in the hells did we miss?"
Jax stood there for a moment, silent, before he turned to Selene and said something as she nodded and stepped back. Jax began to walk forward as I took a step back, worried as to what exactly gone meant, however before I could fully step back Jax spoke a simple 3 word phrase.
"To find Steam."
I felt something settle into my chest as I turned around to the others.
"You all head back to the inn, Jax and I are going for a walk around the city walls and see if we can find some water he can wash off with."
Thalia, and Liora exchanges apprehensive looks as Little fox looked horrified and tried to say something, but Victor put a paw down in front of her.
"If you arrrrrrre surrrrrrrre Aiden."
Selene walked over to the others where Little fox stood to the side away from her as if using everyone else as cover to avoid being seen as Liora slowly began to pull the vehicle into the town.
Jax and I turned and began to slowly walk down the length of the wall as overhead the moon showed and revealed a dazzling cloudless night sky. As we walked, silently at first I glanced over at Jax who despite the night being warm seemed to be shivering slightly. As we walked I thought back to the establishment of our password.
It had been week 2 of Jax staying with me on the mountain, at the time I was still against adventuring, but was growing more accustomed to his presence. I had told him about my parents and he had perked up.
"Those of us with Sucky dads have to stick together, tell you what, how about in the future, if we ever need the other to fully trust us, no questions asked, we have a code phrase. What should it be?"
He had said while running around balancing on a stump while I tried to read on one of our days of resting after a more harrowing encounter with an Ash spirit. At the time I had rolled my eyes, hoping he would shut up so I could read in peace and said.
"How about to find steam. Since my parents were all about steam tech."
Jax had jumped around excited, and honestly I assumed he had forgotten it as he came to a stop and laid down in the grass just staring up at the sky. I stopped walking, looked down at him, and laid down next to him. A part of me was deathly curious about what happened, but the other part knew that probing wouldn't do anything, and Jax would explain on his own. So we laid there, motionless and still as Jax spoke, softly at first and slowly growing to regular talking.
"On our quest we found the guy we were looking for, he had been kidnapped and was being held by a group of naturalists."
I nodded as that explained part of it, but not nearly everything.
"They spoke to me and called me the name I had while I was in the tribe, Strike Runt. Turns out they were from the Stormcaller tribe and on a mission in the city. They were young too, no older than 11, 12, barely any levels in their classes too."
As he said this I thought back to how Little fox had kept saying gone when understanding dawned on me. I stayed laying there, not moving despite my mind racing as I asked.
"I understand that naturalists as a whole are considered terrorists, and they they are known to be combatants, even as young as 11, but why did you kill them?"
The way I said it wasn't blaming, or scrutinizing, it was curiosity as Jax took a shaky breath as if he was trying to hold his emotions in before he said.
"They approached *sniff* they approached me saying my bad wanted me back for some reason. I-I-It flipped a switch as all I could think about was getting my dad to back off, and as I thought, and moved I was surrounded by bodys."
I continued to stare at the sky as next to me Jax began to cry as he quaked a bit where he was. As I spoke I kept my voice soft as I asked.
"You don't like your old tribe very much anyways, is it because Little fox seems to not like you what is hurting so much?"
Jax shook his head as he closed his eyes and in a voice that shaken with emotion said.
"It's because when I saw her, I saw my face. It was the same face I made when Dad killed Orion and I was forced to watch, the fear, helplessness. All I could see was my own face back then and I realized what I was for her at that moment."
I sat up as Jax did as well and he turned to me with a simple question that shook me a bit as it was something I knew plagued Jax.
"Am… Am I becoming just like him?"
I silently hugged Jax as he buried his snout in my shirt as his entire body was racked with sobs.
"Jax, you are not, and will not ever be like your father. He killed Orion to prove his power and to cause fear. You killed those naturalists because you were protecting us. The very fact that you are asking this question shows that you will not become just like him."
"A-Aiden, I-I'm Scared."
Jax sobbed into my back as I held him, trying to hold him from falling apart. Jax had always been the strong protector, the cocky, goofball who would crack jokes. Always having that grin on his face he always wore, no matter the situation. Yet as he sobbed he was not Jax, the adventurer, he was Jax, the kid who ran away from home to a world he knew was dangerous and filled with those who would kill him by association with his father. He traveled with nothing, and made friends, and found a party to travel with.
So as he cried I held him together, picking up any pieces that fell down as I refused to let Jax break. He is one of my best friends, and If he can't find the power to smile, crack jokes, and keep everyone calm, then I will pick up the slack. We will make it through this,
Alive, intact, and stronger for it.