Travlack had not slept since their departure.
A full day had passed. Since then, everyone spoke as rarely as Travlack. He had done all he could to stop Chrissy's bleeding. Though she was conscious now, she remained quiet, opting to hold her side in silence. After another night of Jay foraging for food, everyone fell asleep.
All but Travlack.
As always.
The distant sounds of grand striders traversing the plains broke the silence of the clearing. Every half hour he would walk by Chrissy and listen for her pulse.
Thmp.
…
Thmp.
Alive.
His first aid had improved since last time he'd have to patch someone up. He did a circle around their impromptu encampment. Upon his return to where he started he fell still.
A subtle twitch of the ear.
Something wriggled next to a nearby tree.
Travlack moved quietly. He took out his mace in preparation and poised to strike. He hopped over on the other side of the tree and–
It was a cridas. The small calcified bug had toppled over. Its armor prevented it from rolling back onto its feet. Travlack sighed, sheathed his mace, and picked up the small bug.
Despite being a larva, it was heavier than it looked. Its armor had just started to come in, but the rest of its body had not developed limbs strong enough to support it. Travlack ran his hand along the outer shell. With each segment of armor came a soft divot that allowed it to flex.
He flipped it over and stared at its many legs. All of which swayed in tandem as if it were still on the ground. It was oblivious to its situation now that Travlack held it in his hands.
A soft light caused Travlack to see his shadow. He turned to see Ava holding a large book and a small lamp. She remained upright when she approached him, still cradling the bug.
"You should sleep," Travlack muttered. "More ground to cover tomorrow."
"I can't. Is it okay if I stayed awake with you?"
Travlack looked around and checked the surrounding area with his hearing. Nothing in their immediate vicinity had reason for him to deny her request. He hesitated, but nodded. She found a rock nearby and sat down.
"Is that a cridas?" she asked.
Travlack nodded. The bug continued to wriggle without worry.
She searched the book for a certain page. Hovering the lamp just an inch away, she traced the words with her finger.
"The book says that their armor is valuable when they get older. Cridaxen, its called. They spend their entire life moving just enough to get more nutrients to its shell."
Travlack offered the cridas to Ava. She looked up and flinched upon finding it close to her face, but slowly peered her head closer. She raised a finger and poked its underbelly.
The cridas made a noise in response.
"The book says this one is too small to be anything but a baby…"
Travlack put it down. Ava dangled the lamp over the crawling cridas. It moved at the speed of slow. As it passed by, she dangled a finger over the shell. Her nail made a light scratch as it meandered on by.
"It never grows wings, never grows faster or stronger. It just is…enough. For its entire life," Ava read.
Travlack raised an eyebrow.
"And?"
Ava looked up from her book. Travlack had the cridas back in his hand.
"Not a flaw," Travlack said. "It just is."
"I'm just wondering how it survives in a world where grasshoppers the size of trolleys wander the plains. Or giant praying mantises. Or feathered men who–"
Ava caught herself and closed the book.
"No matter what has gone wrong during this survey," Ava trailed, "You've given no reaction. You've barely raised your voice. Is this…how the world is?"
Travlack set the cridas down.
"Yes."
Ava sighed and slowly clutched her book.
"But…," Travlack started.
Ava looked up. He could hear her choke back a tear.
"It's only half. There is more. I have seen many things. Many, many things."
Ava's tense grip on her book loosened slightly.
"Over twenty cycles I've served. Twenty cycles of work. But there is more."
Ava and Travlack sat together in silence for a minute before she spoke again.
"Why did you choose to spend this much time with the department?"
Travlack shrugged.
"I chose."
"That's it?"
"That's all."
"Why didn't you choose any other guild? Or choose to be a craftsman, or–even a chef. Why did you choose this? Why be out here escorting a Zenith who never set foot off her airship?"
"I was assigned."
"That can't be all."
"Why not?"
"You just accepted everything as it was? You never once questioned how it could be different?"
"I lived what I chose. What could be does not matter. Only what I do."
"Is that what the DLF teaches?"
Travlack nodded.
"Avoid risk. Take certainty."
Ava opened her mouth to speak but found no words. After another minute of silence she posed a question.
"But what if I–"
She stopped herself.
Then she started again.
"What if you did? Do you not wonder what could have been if you acted differently? What would your life be like?"
"No."
Ava bit her lip and locked eyes with the floor.
"I see," she sighed. "I…"
Ava stood with her lamp. She took a couple of steps and spoke from over her shoulder.
"Thanks for your protection thus far, Travlack. I hope it continues to be enough."
She walked back to her sleeping back and turned off the light.
Travlack detected rustling in the same place he did earlier. He walked over to see the same cridas, again, on its back. He picked it up, walked to his right, and then put it back down. Travlack watched the critter scuttled into the darkness of the forest. He slumped against a tree and stared at the ground until the sun rose.
Chrissy got up first.
Rather, Travlack noticed the change in her breathing first. She opted to remain in the same spot regardless. From the shade of the tree, Travlack could see light red streaks in her bandages.
A while later, Jay stretched with his legs in the air. He rose triumphantly with enlarged and increased fur. He spotted Travlack and strolled over to him, whistling a tune. On his way the horns decreased in size, and the overgrown fur retreated back into his skin. By the time Jay sat down next to Travlack he was his normal self again.
"Good mornin' Travvy! Anything weird happen at night?"
Travlack shook his head.
"Great! I figure we make a little more trail toward the waterfall and we could be there in two days tops. Or should I say segments, mister DLF?"
"Either."
"Alright, cool. Yeah."
The pair sat in silence but maintained eye contact.
Travlack blinked first.
As always.
…
"Hey, Travvy, can I pick your brain for a second?"
Travlack looked at Jay with heavy eyes, but gave no response.
"Great. So, the entire…"
Jay looked around. He leaned toward where the rest of the camp slept and waited before turning back to Travlack.
"...Lanon thing…I'm guessing he wasn't like that in the cave, right?"
Travlack nodded once.
"Were there any signs he could, you know, evolve into a feathered nightmare or is that just completely new?"
"New."
Jay nodded.
"But not…"
Travlack stopped himself.
"Chrissy said he saved her life," Jay sighed, "Seeing him now like that must be…interesting."
Jay smacked his teeth. They sat in silence for a minute, and listened to the rest of the forest wake up.
"But you saved Chrissy," added Jay, "And did what you could. That's all anyone can do, buddy!"
Travlack turned his head with sunken eyes. He spoke no words in response.
"Well," Jay clapped his hands, "I'm gonna find breakfast. I coulda sworn there was an orchard around here. I would get a little nap in, Travvy. You've done enough."
Jay patted his shoulder and strolled into the forest. Travlack returned his gaze into the ground and fought to stay awake.
A battle he lost in the coming minutes.
After breakfast the group resumed their pace. Travlack's head bobbed as he sat on his capastra with closed eyes. In the background a soft ringing persisted, but Travlack tuned it out. Armed with only a quick nap, his ears were working triple time.
The flutter of a feather.
The shift of a tree.
A single drop of dew falling onto the ground.
He put a hand to his saddle and steadied himself. The ringing had overpowered his senses. The cost of accuracy had been paid.
As always.
Chrissy remained silent, opting to instead stare forward. Nathaniel, Ava, and Jay talked with more energy today. Travlack's ears honed in on their conversation.
"...taking the shortcut still?" Jay wondered.
"You said it'll put us back on track. No other choice," responded Nathaniel.
"Oh you'll love it, Ava," said Jay, "The cave has sections where the light passes through. And the moss there? Amazing. It tastes great roasted."
Ava chuckled.
"I read that in the book but I can't say I've ever had moss before. I would be open to trying some."
The ringing in Travlack's ears resurfaced. His body reminded him of how much sleep he was working with. The tips of his ears drooped and bobbed as they continued the trail.
His mount had other plans.
They were passing through a flowered path. On either side of them were high bushes full of blooming violets. Travlack felt a slight shift in trajectory in the rhythm of its walk. With a gentle pull, he corrected the course of the capastra.
A minute later, he had to correct it again.
The bags under Travlack's eyes started to win. His grip on the reins loosened slightly, giving way for his mount to interpret his grip.
A sharper turn toward the wall of flowers.
Of course.
Travlack felt the shift, but his body delayed. Before he could recover the reins, a sudden movement from the bushes startled his mount. It bleated in panic and responded to Travlack's guidance. For the rest of the path to the moss passage, it remained in line.
It was midday when they made it to the entrance. Jay guided them through the narrow passage. Halfway through, the passage opened up into a chamber of hanging moss. Holes in the ceiling of the cave let light burst through, illuminating the entire room with soft reflections.
"Ain't it great?" Jay sighed.
Travlack watched Ava dismount and lay on a moss patch, completely enthralled. Jay laid down beside her and listened to her every opinion. Nathaniel took a pocket vinyl from his pack and walked to the far side of the cavern, leaving Chrissy and Travlack still mounted.
He watched Chrissy groan and dismount. She took a couple of steps away from where Jay and Ava lay and crawled onto a sunny spot. Neville crawled on the ground beside her. He chittered and sniffed the air excitedly.
"Neville, sacxa."
He took off toward the top of the cavern, sifting through moss for potential prey. Travlack did his best to tune out the sounds of Neville's feast while he dismounted. From his saddlebag, he grabbed fresh gauze and walked over to Chrissy. He sat down in a shaded spot next to her, inspecting her bandages with his eyes.
The red streaks in the gauze had saturated further. He sighed and started to prepare new strips as Chrissy spoke.
"Don't bother. I'll be fine."
Travlack kept preparing the strips.
"Travlack, really, it's just–"
"You got cut. Then made it worse. RIG expanded the wound."
She did not respond. Travlack watched Chrissy sprawl into a stretch, taking up the entirety of the light ray.
"I couldn't risk it."
Travlack raised a brow.
"Risk what? The situation was handled."
Chrissy smacked her lips and unwrapped the bandage around her torso.
"I didn't know that for sure. I can't afford to think what would have happened if I didn't move like I did."
"It would have resolved."
"Are you sure?"
Travlack went still.
The sunlight in the row slowly crawled onto Travlack's finger.
He felt the illumination slowly warm up his knuckles.
It made its way up to the base of the hand in the time he did not respond.
Travlack adjusted how he sat quietly, bringing his full body back into the shade.
"Yes."
Chrissy shrugged. She finished taking off the old bandages and reached for the clean ones Travlack prepared. He turned around to leave but stopped upon hearing Chrissy's mouth open.
"Well, I did what I could. I know you did too."
Travlack felt a ray of light slither on his toes.
"I did."
He stepped away into a shaded part of the cavern and laid down. Travlack's ears attempted to remain awake, but it was no use.
The sounds of bandages…
Murmured conversations…
The flap of Neville's wings…
All fell mute. He succumbed to his exhaustion, and slept on the mossy floor.
…
From deep inside the cavern, Travlack could hear the rushing sounds of water. The exit of the passage cast a vermillion glow that stretched down the corridor.
A sunset.
Jay spoke up first.
As always.
"Now would you look at that! Now was I right, or was I right, Boshy?"
An audible sigh from Nathaniel.
"If you'd like," added Jay, "Maybe we can take the one through Unpo territory-"
"No!" Chrissy, Nathaniel, and Ava said in unison.
One by one they left the cave. Each gave a reaction to the sight of the sunset by the waterfall.
Jay lifted the afro from his eyes in order to see it better.
Nathaniel adjusted his glasses and nodded.
Ava softly smiled as Vae stretched in the sunlight.
Chrissy exhaled as the light hit her, with Neville mirroring her movements.
Finally, it was Travlack's turn.
The light hit him.
His body received the warmth of the sun.
His eyes had not yet adjusted from being in the cave so long. He lifted his hand above his eyes to shield the sunlight. With his vision steadied, he made out the gentle slope leading down to the churning pool. They remained in single file until reaching the grassy bank at the base of the waterfall.
Travlack could feel the reverberation of the splashing water in his chest. He looked up where the water started its descent into the lake below. Nothing on his face did so in admiration, but in plain observation.
Everyone else followed his eyes in pure awe. He heard their soft gasps of wonder and appreciation while they stood together at the edge of the flowing water.
Until Jay broke the silence.
As always.
"JJ, the last one in is a stinky herrera!"
Travlack turned just in time to see Jay fly by him and crash into the water. JJ's heavier footsteps followed quickly after. They witnessed the largest capridae they have ever seen jump as high as its legs would allow, and plummet into the lake. The backsplash of this feat soaked everyone–Travlack being the shortest caught the full effect of the wave.
Travlack pulled his drenched hair from his eyes and grabbed a dry cloth from his capastra. In the shade of the nearby trees, he dutifully cleaned the base, tips, and inside of his ears. He watched Ava and Chrissy laugh with Jay as stood under the base of the waterfall, attempting to resist its downpour. Nathaniel stood in the light of the sunset cleaning off his glasses a couple of steps back. He turned to walk toward his mount but stopped upon meeting Travlack's eyes.
Nathaniel took another look at the group and made his way to Travlack, placing his glasses back onto his face. He stopped just shy of the shade, his back remaining in the sunlight.
Despite his approach, Travlack did not stop cleaning his ears. After a couple of seconds Nathaniel spoke.
"I'd wager The Department would want your testimony."
"Probably."
The rubbing of a cloth filled the silence.
"I didn't think I would be fending off bandits or watching a man get eaten alive," sighed Nathaniel, "Not unless my father was leading, at least."
"I was."
Nathaniel gave a dry chuckle and sat at eye level with Travlack.
"The Department mentioned that you were reliable. You said you've been with them for twenty cycles?"
Travlack nodded.
"Goodness. You've been in there since I was a boy. How are you only an Inspector?"
Travlack ears twitched.
"Only?"
Nathaniel adjusted the way he sat and replied hastily.
"I don't mean it like that, but…"
Travlack watched Nathaniel bite his tongue in careful thought. His previous statement forced Travlack's hands to fall idle.
"I meant, surely they would have made you a Senior Inspector or something of the like by now, right?"
Travlack blinked once.
"Never mind, forget I said anything. I didn't mean for it to come out that way," said Nathaniel, standing up.
Travlack did not resume cleaning his ears.
Nathaniel started to walk away but swiftly turned around.
"I'm sorry if I offended you. I'm sure you're doing all you can."
With that, Nathaniel walked to his capastra and pulled out his pocket vinyls. Travlack's eyes followed him as he walked to another tree in the sun and sat against it.
Still, Travlack did not continue to clean his ears.
The small sounds of a critter pulled him from his thoughts. He turned to see a cridas, turned upside down, at the base of the tree.
He stared at the bug.
He reached for it.
Then he stopped.
The bug started rocking back and forth in rhythm. Within moments, it put itself back on its legs.
"Travvy! Everything good over there?" called Jay, floating on his back.
Travlack realized he had been staring at the bug. He nodded his head to Jay and resumed cleaning his ears. Travlack kept watching over the teetering bug, curious as to the outcome of its attempt.
One minute of struggle later, something new happened.
It landed upright in the light of the setting sun.
___
Language Translation:
Kutaxia:
Sacxa = scatter, go, disperse