And here’s chapter 16! A long one this time. I considered breaking it in half like I’ve done for a couple others, but ultimately decided against it. This one’s got action, emotion, AND magic. Enjoy!

-Llox

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After staying up a while longer and mulling over his experience, Kuna still couldn’t decide if it’d been a dream, or… something else. There was no physical proof of it having happened. But nonetheless, he felt different, somehow. As his gaze lifted up to the dark wilderness surrounding their camping spot, he had none of the usual anxiety he often got from pondering what might be out there, watching him. And beyond that, he still felt like there was some new part of him that he couldn’t explain. Like a sense he was just starting to become aware of. As if he was blind and had his vision restored, only he hadn’t opened his eyes yet.

Still, despite his desire to understand it, he eventually resigned himself to the fact that he wouldn’t get any more answers that night. The spirit- if it ever existed at all- was nowhere in sight. Looking back into the fire, he saw that it appeared perfectly normal, with nothing resembling eyes floating within its yellow and orange hues. After a few more hours, fatigue finally hit him, despite his little unexpected ‘nap’ earlier.

So, with some reluctance, he crawled into their makeshift shelter and gently nudged Lykou. After a little prodding, the konuul’s eyes fluttered open. He yawned and stretched as he sat up. “Morning, Kuna,” he said at first, then paused and looked out at the still-dark wilderness. “Oh, right, it isn’t morning yet.”

“Sorry, is it too s-”

“There’s that dumb s-word again,” Lykou said as he smirked at the sereva.

“...right,” Kuna said with a sheepish grin. “But I hope I gave you enough time to sleep. I-I could wait a bit longer if you n-”

The konuul held a finger up to the sereva’s lips. “Shh. I’m fine. Let me just get some water, then my lap’s all yours to snooze in.”

The sereva folded his ears down as he smiled back at him. “Sure. And thanks.” Even if he no longer felt the strong need to be protected like he had before, the idea of being cradled in his friend’s arms still felt extremely nice and comforting.

“Of course,” Lykou said, embracing him briefly. Then he reached over for his waterskin and took a few big sips.

Kuna briefly debated telling him about his strange experience, but he didn’t want to come across as just making up stories. And it wasn’t like he had any proof. Ultimately, he decided to hold off for the time being. When the konuul settled back against one of the stone walls comprising part of their little shelter and patted his lap, the sereva wasted no time crawling over and cuddling up into his arms contently. “G’night, Lykou,” he said as he smiled up at the canid.

“Sleep tight, Kuna,” Lykou replied with equal contentment, gently stroking the sereva’s arm.

Kuna was fast asleep within moments of closing his eyes.

*****

When Kuna woke up the next morning, he found himself still wrapped in Lykou’s arms. As he stirred, the somewhat groggy konuul snapped out of apparently staring off into space and smiled again. “Morning, sleepyhead.”

Kuna rubbed his eye and yawned a bit as he sat up. “Good morning,” he said as he stretched some. “Hope the night wasn’t too boring...”

Lykou shrugged. “Hey, boring is better than the alternative in this case,” he pointed out. “I did get up and move around a few times just to keep awake. I’m just glad I managed to do it without waking you up.”

“Really?” Kuna replied with a small amount of surprise. “But… you still came back an-”

“Well obviously. Wanted to keep you comfortable, after all,” the konuul said with a wink.

The sereva blushed and smiled. “You didn’t have to do that,” he said. “But thank you.”

“Hey, like I told you, I enjoy cuddling as much as you do,” Lykou reminded him.

“Fair enough,” Kuna said as he started to dig some food out for his breakfast. “You’re still a big sweetheart, though.”

Lykou smiled as he dug out his own breakfast. “Ah, come on. That’s just what friends are for.”

Kuna fixed him with a level stare, smirking. “Lykou. You’re literally the kindest person I’ve met since I was little,” he said, then his smirk faded as he glanced away in thought for a moment. “Although… admittedly that’s not saying much in my case, now that I think about it.”

The canid looked at him with concern, but was surprised when the sereva simply shrugged and his smile returned as quickly as it’d faded.

“But still,” Kuna finished, before taking a bite out of some kind of crunchy stalk.

Lykou blushed slightly and rubbed his neck. “Well, I try,” he said with a very slightly bashful grin.

The two quietly got through their breakfast, then packed up. Since the two opened gourds were empty, they each managed to pack one into their bags, with the tops placed back on them. Until they figured out a way to turn them into proper seal-able containers, they decided to hold off on filling them back up with water just yet.

Just as Lykou was about to lead the way on resuming their hike, Kuna stopped him. “Hang on. We need to check your bandages,” he pointed out, then gestured to the konuul’s pants. “Drop ‘em.”

The konuul was a bit surprised at the sudden bluntness. But he smirked as he pulled his pants down and started helping to undo the bandage. “Want me to pose for you, too?” he teased. “Or is just being near it enough?”

Kuna smirked back at him, blushing a bit. “Maybe later, hot stuff,” he replied, further surprising Lykou. “If you wanna show off so bad. I know you’re into that. Need to jerk off again already?” He winked.

“Well aren’t you in an unusual mood this morning,” Lykou eventually said with a big grin. “I guess you slept well, then?”

“You could say that,” Kuna said as he finished removing the bandage. He looked at the wound for a moment and rubbed his chin. “Well, looks like that stuff worked. No infection. Still got a while to go before it’s fully healed though. How’s it feel?”

“Aches a bit, still a little sensitive, but it’s not as bad as it was,” the canid responded. “You’re uh… not going to put any more of that stinging stuff on it, are you?”

“Hmm. It might not be a bad idea, just in case,” Kuna said contemplatively.

“Ugh. Do you have to? I don’t want to have to open another gourd already.”

Kuna smirked and glanced sidelong up at the canid, then eventually shrugged. “Eh, it should be fine. Should still bandage it back up at least, though.”

“Sure,” Lykou said as he began helping the sereva apply a new bandage. “How many of those… leafy bits you got left?”

“Not much. If we see any on the hike today, we should stop and gather some,” the sereva pointed out.

“Good idea,” Lykou said with a nod. “Hopefully we won’t, er, create any new need for them, but you never know what else is lurking on this mountain.”

“Exactly. Sure hope we can somehow get some better protection soon.”

“Me too,” the konuul said, rubbing his arm thoughtfully. “At least I’ve still got two extra spears now though, in case one breaks. Even if they’re not exactly the best.”

“Mhmm. I wonder if I should try and add something to my walking stick, give it a bit more bite in case we get into another fight,” Kuna said as he finally stood back up, looking around some. “Like tie a rock to it or something.”

Lykou raised an eyebrow at the sereva as he started putting his pants back on. “Er. Maybe. You’d have to secure it pretty good though. And it’s kind of awkward to use that way, if it comes down to it.”

“Oh?” Kuna asked curiously, turning back to his companion. “How so?”

“Well, the heavier the striking end gets, the harder it is to control a weapon. And the longer the handle, the more difference the weight on the end makes,” Lykou explained. “Make it too awkward and it won’t matter how hard you hit with it, if you struggle to hit in the first place, or even lose your grip.”

“Oh,” Kuna said, looking down at the stick thoughtfully.

“I’m kind of surprised you’re thinking about that though,” Lykou continued. He then gently rested a hand on the sereva’s shoulder. “Remember, you don’t have to be a fighter, Kuna. It’s one thing to be able to defend yourself a bit, but when it comes to getting rid of threats, I’m more than happy to shoulder that burden for the both of us.”

The sereva stared at him for a moment, then shrugged with a sigh. “I know. I don’t expect to be on your level or anything,” he said, looking back down for a moment. “I just want to be able to help as much as I can.” His brows furrowed in a look of determination. “I’m done with just running away and hiding.”

Lykou was prepared to counter with something, but held off as he saw the look of determination on his friend’s face when he looked back up. He could tell something was different this time as he studied the look in the sereva’s eye. There was a newfound confidence he hadn’t seen there before, and while a bit surprising and seemingly out-of-nowhere, he welcomed it. “Well… alright then,” he said with a small smile. “Just be careful not to get yourself hurt in the process. You’re the one who’s got to patch either of us up if we get got.”

Kuna nodded. “I know.”

“Alright then,” the canid said after taking a deep breath and looking up at the mountain. “Let’s go climb this thing and see if we can find some of these answers its supposedly hiding up there somewhere.”

*****

Most of the morning passed relatively uneventfully. But as the sun was approaching its zenith and they walked out into a relatively open and flat area by a cliff, Kuna felt eyes upon him. The two shared a look and Lykou nodded to confirm that he felt it as well. Gripping his spear firmly, he slowed to a stop, with the sereva doing the same at his side. He quickly turned to check the brush on the downhill slope on his side for any sign of approaching trouble, while the sereva whirled around to look behind them. They quickly dropped their bags as they braced themselves for a fight.

Neither saw any sign of movement, but then suddenly several of the bushes themselves started charging forward from multiple directions. Lykou backed up a step as he prepared to thrust his spear at the closest attacker. He was surprised when, rather than retreating, Kuna stepped forward and swung his stick at the closest on his side with all his might.

Of course, he didn’t have much might to bring to bare. Nonetheless, the stick connected to something inside the shambling bundle of leaves, causing its occupant to grunt and stumble slightly. The attackers all charged with increased aggression, dropping their disguises and making loud gibbering, shrieking sounds as they attacked. Oddly, the medallions didn’t translate any of it as anything coherent. As the leaves and brush fell away, they were revealed to be short, wiry, fleshy figures that reminded the two of the description the shakonu had given them of the scavengers they’d encountered- golzogs. And there were about a half dozen of them, each armed with a nasty looking black knife.

“Shit,” was all Lykou could say before dodging to the side to avoid a stab in his already wounded thigh. He swung his spear around to knock the attacker over, only for the imp-like individual to block with its knife. The next thing he knew, another was leaping at him from the other side. In a quick motion, he drew his own dagger just in time to block the second assailant’s blade from reaching his other side. He spun around just in time to land a hard kick on a third trying to sneak up from behind him. The blow was hard enough to launch its target over towards the second attacker.

While Lykou was dealing with his own assailants, Kuna was doing his best against two that had managed to get on either side of him. He could feel his adrenaline kicking in, and a familiar panic was welling up. But with a deep breath, he quickly swept it away just in time to block the first leaping golzog’s swipe with his stick. Hearing the approach of the other behind him, he planted the stick in the ground and used it to lift himself up off the ground and jump over the first attacker, then brought it around to swipe the little imp of its feet. He successfully managed to knock the first prone, but the second lept over its comrade and he only barely avoided a swipe of its dagger.

The fight went on like that for several minutes, and both of them took several painful, but thankfully shallow cuts from glancing attacks. The pain from his older wound made it more difficult for Lykou, but he managed to channel the pain into his fighting. Finally with one fluid motion, he managed to stab one golzog in the throat as it tried to jump him from behind, then brought it over his shoulder and slammed its body into another in front of him, then finally he spun around and smacked the third with his spear hard enough to cause it to lose its balance. He shoved the blunt end of his spear back against the stumbling golzog, causing it go tumbling over the nearby cliff with a loud screeching sound.

Kuna was gritting his teeth, covered in little cuts, as he struggled to keep his attackers at bay. He’d landed several hard hits and managed to avoid receiving any serious wounds, but he was clearly slowly losing the fight. With a surge of determination and anger, he suddenly let one attacker’s thrust cut him just so he could get close enough to grab its wrist, then slammed a nearby rock down on its head as hard as he could. With a loud, sickening crack, the golzog stumbled over backwards and fell on the ground, bleeding from its head. He spun around with his stick just in time to block what would have been a nasty stab from the other attacker behind him. Just as he was about to kick it away, a net suddenly fell over him.

The sereva struggled against the net, as its user, a third golzog that’d been hanging back among the brush until then, came out and helped is comrade tighten the net around him. He grunted and struggled, but his strength was no match even for the comparatively small creatures when they worked together to bind him up. “Let me fucking GO!” he shouted, his eyes angrily tearing up at his own inability to fight.

The golzogs actually started snickering at him as one tied some kind of vine around his legs, forcing him to trip and fall onto the ground. Just as the other was preparing to shiv him with its nasty little black blade, however, a blur whipped past and launched it off the side of the cliff with a strong kick. Its partner looked up just in time to be grabbed and slammed into the ground with a shiny yellow knife pressed hard enough to its throat to draw blood without quite sinking in yet. Its own knife had been hurled out of its grasp by the impact.

“I will let you live on the condition that you tell any other little shits like you how you got your ass kicked, and that we are not to be fucked with,” Lykou said in a quiet, deadly tone, glaring a hole into the now terrified creature’s eyes. “And don’t play dumb,” he added, lifting the medallion up with his off hand while crushing the golzog’s chest with his knee. “I know you can fucking understand me.”

The golzog weakly grasped at the konuul’s arm, trying to pull him away, but the lack of any ability to draw a decent breath was quickly sapping whatever strength it had away. Finally, it weakly nodded its head, shaking in his grasp.

“Good. Now get the fuck out of here,” he said, hauling the creature up and physically hurling it against a nearby tree. Before it could even dizzily stand up, the konuul grabbed its fallen knife. “And I’ll be taking this. Come one step closer and I’ll sheath it in your fucking eye.”

The golzog quickly scrambled to its feet and clumsily bolted down the mountain side, occasionally tripping and tumbling as it went. With it gone, Lykou turned around and started cutting Kuna free of the net he was bound up in. He expected his friend to be brooding over his inability to fight when he got free, but instead was surprised when, instead, the sereva bolted up, grabbed another fallen black knife, and hurled it with all his strength down at the distant, retreating golzog. The knife hit with just enough force to stick ever so slightly in the creature’s arm for half a second before falling back to the ground. The golzog let out a pained yelp as it redoubled its efforts to escape.

“COME BACK AND I’ll FUCKING RIP YOUR THROAT OUT WITH ONE OF YOUR OWN DAMNED KNIVES!” the sereva shouted with a pent-up fury Lykou had never seen before. He’d practically snarled at the end.

The konuul just stared wordlessly at him in wide-eyed shock.

Kuna gradually calmed himself down, panting, then wiped a few tears from his eyes. “Fucking… bald, bony little shits,” he muttered under his breath. Eventually, he seemed to suddenly remember Lykou, and his intense, angry expression faded as he slowly looked up with an almost sheepish, uncertain one.

“Wh… where the fuck did you come from,” Lykou said softly, shock still painted across his face. “And what did you do with Kuna?” he half-joked, with a somewhat uncertain smirk.

Kuna glanced around a bit uneasily, then sighed and slumped over, leaning against a nearby boulder protruding from the mountain as he slid to the ground. “I’m just… done with being a coward, is all,” he said, eyes cast down, unwilling to meet the konuul’s gaze. “Might not be able to fight for shit, but I am fucking tired of always feeling helpless in these situations. I’m done with letting fear control me.”

Lykou just stared in silence for another minute before responding. “Clearly.” He slowly walked over, then sat down next to the sereva after sheathing his knife, carefully thinking over what to say next. “That uh… that wasn’t just aimed at the golzog, was it?”

The sereva finally glanced up at him briefly after a moment, then rubbed his arm as he looked away again. “N-no, I guess not.”

The two sat in awkward silence for a moment. “It really bothers you that much, huh?” Lykou eventually asked, quietly.

After a brief pause, Kuna nodded slightly. “All I’ve done for years is run, cower, and panic. Now that I’ve… er,” he glanced around somewhat shiftily for a moment. “S-started to overcome that, I’m disgusted when I look back on that.”

Lykou very gently laid a hand on his shoulder. “And I’m guessing you’re frustrated that overcoming it didn’t automatically make you a better fighter.”

Kuna quickly looked up in surprise, feeling like his mind had been read. Then his face fell and his ears drooped down. “I-… y-yeah.”

“Well, actually, it kind of did,” Lykou said, surprising and confusing the sereva even more.

“Huh? No it didn’t,” Kuna replied, giving his friend a look. “You ended up having to cut me out of a net. Yet again, if it wasn’t for you, I wouldn’t have survived.” He turned away again and sighed.

“You stood your ground. That automatically makes you a better fighter than before,” Lykou said firmly, giving his shoulder a gentle squeeze. “Even if you don’t land a single hit, that’s a big step.”

After a moment, Kuna looked up at him again, trying to think of something to say.

“But Kuna, I hope you’re doing it for the right reasons,” Lykou continued, gently taking the sereva’s hand in his free one. “I’m glad to see you overcoming your fears. Proud of you, in fact. But don’t just blindly replace that fear with anger.”

“W-well what am I supposed to do then??” Kuna said, pulling his hand away to rub his eyes as they started tearing up. As liberating as his strange experience the previous night was, he was faced with the reality that, physically at least, he was still the same weak, inexperienced sereva he was before. And he was struggling with it. “I can’t help it. What else have I got?”

Lykou pulled the sereva into his lap, albeit with some unexpected resistance for once. But the resistance quickly crumbled as their eyes met. Lykou studied him for a moment, then sighed and pulled him into a tight hug. “I don’t have an easy answer for that,” he admitted. Then he pulled back and smiled faintly at the sereva. “I’m not sure what sparked this sudden change, and, like I said, I’m glad to see you fighting your demons off. But don’t let them consume you in a different way, either. I know it might make you feel a bit better at first, but just turning that fear and pain into anger and hate will just eat you alive twice as fast.”

Kuna looked away for a moment, but then the konuul lifted his chin back towards him.

“And I know that’s not who you are, any more than the frightened ‘weakling’ you were telling me you were,” Lykou continued. “You told me about your parents, and your grandmother. I’m sure that’s not who they raised, or what they saw in you. You’ve got a good heart despite all you’ve been through, Kuna. I saw it in your eyes the moment I met you, even under all that fear.”

The sereva stared at him with a watery-eyed glare for a moment, but eventually clenched his eyes shut as he leaned forward, burying his face in the konuul’s neck fur again as he wrapped his arms around him. “I’m just tired of the world pushing me around, Lykou,” he mumbled, then sniffed. “Why can’t I be strong like you? Even when I push aside those instincts, it feels like everything walks all over me.”

Lykou squeezed him gently in his arms. “The world’s a cruel bitch sometimes,” he acknowledged, softly stroking his friend’s back. “But you don’t have to get cruel back. Like I said, there are all kinds of strength. The fact that you’re moving past your fears is definitely one of them. But staying true to yourself is an even more important one.”

“Sappy, as usual,” the sereva eventually responded, then sighed and gently nuzzled the konuul’s neck. “You’re right though. Also as usual. I just… wish I knew what to do. To get better. To be better.”

“Hey, you’re doing it all the time,” Lykou assured him. “You’re overcoming your fears. Facing your demons. And slowly starting to see your own value. That stuff matters. It may not be obvious when you’re facing down some hostile monster or something, but that shit’s not really… well, normal. We’re just in a weird situation.”

Kuna took a deep breath and lifted his head to wipe his eyes again. “Yeah, I guess…”

Again, the konuul squeezed him in a tight hug, sniffing a bit himself as a stray tear leaked out of the corner of his eye.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean t-” Kuna started, noticing the tear as he pulled back.

“There’s that word again,” Lykou pointed out with a small grin. “Don’t be. If you can shed a few, so can I. I just worry about you, and wish I could help you more.”

Kuna sighed, then chuckled lightly as he leaned his head against the konuul’s. “Sometimes I forget we’ve only known each other for a couple weeks now,” he commented with a small smile. “Feels way longer than that.”

“You know… it really does,” Lykou agreed, squeezing him again.

“...I’m gonna say it again, so just put up with it, but,” Kuna said, smirking slightly. “I’m sorry for being such a crazy mess. And thank you for pulling me out every time I fall down one of those dark holes.”

“I’ll do it as often as you need me to,” Lykou said, smiling back at him.

Eventually, the two got up again, wincing as they were finally reminded of all the little cuts they’d sustained in the fight. Their clothing had some tears and cuts as well, especially Kuna’s poncho. They looked around and surveyed their surroundings. Their bags and the bed mat were still in the spots they’d been dropped at the start of the fight. Aside from the two thrown off the side of the mountain and the one that’d fled, the bodies of the golzogs littered the area. Kuna cringed a bit at the sight.

“See? Told you,” Lykou suddenly chimed in with a smirk as he rubbed the sereva’s head. “You still hate the sight of dead bodies. And honestly? I kind of love that about you.”

Kuna just blushed a bit and rolled his eyes up with a small smile.

“You did put up an impressive fight though, from what I could see.”

The sereva shrugged. “I tried, anyway.”

“You may not have the muscle for attacking, but you’re pretty damn light on your feet, you know,” the canid went on. “If you’re going to insist on fighting, you should think about how to use that to your advantage.”

“Heh, yeah, probably,” the sereva replied. “Now that I know all the anger in the world isn’t going to make me hit any harder.”

Lykou walked around and collected the other black knives that’d been used against them. He then turned one over a few times in his hands and looked at it curiously. “Wonder what these are even made of?”

Kuna approached and looked at one himself after the canid handed it to him. “Good question. It does kind of look like some kind of stone, but none that I’ve seen. Kind of pretty, actually,” He turned and took another glance at the closest corpse. “You’re, er… not going to…”

Lykou gave him a confused look for a moment, then blanched. “W- Kuna! They might be assholes, but they’re still technically people. No, I’m not going to butcher them.”

“Right. Good,” the sereva said with a small sigh of relief.

“Eesh. Come on,” Lykou said, shooting him a mildly offended look.

“Sorry,” Kuna apologized, looking a bit embarrassed. “To be fair, they were kind of wild for, well, people. And just making gibberish sounds. I would have thought these things would have translated some of that if they were actually, you know, saying anything,” he added after a moment, examining the medallion around his neck briefly again.

Lykou raised an eye brow, then shrugged. “Yeah, that is odd. But people are people even if they’re a bunch of dumb, violent weirdos. And obviously that last one understood when I spoke to it.”

“So uh,” the sereva started, glancing around with discomfort at the bodies. “What do we do with them? Not that I feel any particular respect for the little bastards, but…”

“I don’t feel like going through the trouble of collecting that much wood right now, and I certainly am not going to try and dig a hole to put them in,” Lykou responded flatly, then glared down at one of the bodies. Then he shrugged. “It’s a battleground. One they made. If any of their own have any inclination, they’ll come deal with their dead. Otherwise, nature will deal with it.”

Kuna shivered slightly. “Yeah, alright. Let’s not stick around for it though either way.”

Lykou nodded. “Yeah, we should keep going.”

After collecting their things, they walked in silence for a bit as they resumed their ascent. Normally, it would have been past their usual lunch time, but at the moment neither of them had much appetite. After a short while, Kuna smirked faintly and spoke up.

“You were pretty vicious yourself there at the end,” he pointed out to the konuul. “Whatever happened to ‘not liking seeing things in pain’?”

“It’s different when they deserve it,” Lykou muttered with narrowed eyes. Then he glanced over at the sereva with a slightly sheepish smirk. “And after I saw you in that net… let’s just say you weren’t the only one that had some anger to deal with.”

Kuna chuckled a bit. “My big, tough hero,” he said, throwing his arm around the konuul, who in turn embraced him back.

*****

Eventually, the two ended up finding a semi-shallow cave further up the mountain and decided to settle down there for the evening. At that point, they were up high enough to already have a pretty good view of the surrounding landscape. They saw various patches of large grasslands between other, equally large chunks of forest. They could also just make out the burnt village in the distance, as well as the other, larger village that the shakonu they’d met called home. But they could only see the one side from where they were, and in any case they hadn’t reached the top yet.

Unfortunately, the trees had been thinning the further up they went, so they could just barely find enough wood for a decent fire. With that in mind, they decided to wait until the sun was actually setting to start the fire, which they did close to the cave entrance. In the meantime, Kuna checked over their wounds, cleaning and bandaging the worse ones as best he could. Fortunately, the overwhelming majority of them were quite minor, even if they did sting.

Once the time was right, they lit the fire and cuddled by the firepit for a bit, while the stars and moon rose into the sky. It was another pretty night, though some clouds were starting to clump together on the horizon.

Lykou yawned after a while. “You up to taking the first watch again?”

Kuna nodded. “Yeah, you go get some rest. Goodnight, Lykou.”

“Goodnight, Kuna,” the canid said as they both embraced once more, before he turned to head to the back of the cave. Moments later, though, he let out a startled yelp, immediately getting the sereva’s attention.

A mass of small rocks had lifted up from the back of the cave, right near where the konuul had set up their sleeping mat. They began spinning and floating in place, then the whole cluster started drifting towards the front of the cave.

Kuna gave the canid a slightly bemused look, coming to hold his hand as he carefully kept out of the way of the stones.

“Is-”

“Yep, that’s a galdra,” the sereva confirmed. “It must have been just kind of… resting in here, I guess.”

The canid watched the spirit float by with fascination. “Er… you did say they’re safe, right?”

Kuna nodded. “Honestly, out of all the spirits I’ve met, they always seemed the least threatening. I actually enjoyed their presence, really,” he said, then stepped back and smiled somewhat apologetically at the stones as they drifted past. “Er. Sorry we disturbed you…”

Suddenly, their medallions flared for a moment, and they received a mental message as a low, slightly rhythmic sound pulsed out from the spirit. The message wasn’t really comprised of words, though, so much as general ideas- mild annoyance, at first. That was followed by one of indifference, and finally mild curiosity.

Kuna’s eyes widened slightly. This was the first time a galdra had ever communicated with him in any way. He shared a look with Lykou, as if to confirm that he’d ‘heard’ it as well. He then turned back to the spirit. “Um. W-we’re just taking shelter in here for the night. We’re… on a long journey. I hope that’s okay…”

Again, they received a mental message of indifference. Then, Lykou nudged the sereva slightly. “Hey, we’re on this mountain where spirits supposedly answer big questions, right? What are we waiting for?”

“I… don’t think galdras are really the type for that kind of thing. I’m not sure it could even give a useful answer to that,” Kuna whispered to the konuul. “Given the vague way it’s talking to us.”

“Come on, we have to at least try!”

Kuna sighed and cautiously approached the galdra, which had stopped to seemingly inspect the fire. “Um, sorry again, just… we were wondering if you maybe could help us with something. We’re a long way from home and don’t know how to get back, you see… is there any way you could… I don’t know, point us in the right direction or something?”

After a brief pause, they both received a general sense of confusion from the spirit, followed by another message of indifference. Before they could respond, the spirit floated out of the cave and around the corner, out of sight.

“Well damn. I guess that’s a no, then,” Lykou said with a small sigh.

“Yeah, can’t say I’m too surprised though,” Kuna said with a shrug. “Thing you have to keep in mind, is that spirits range all over the place in terms of intelligence. I honestly think a lot of those more… elemental-type spirits are more like the spirit versions of particularly clever animals, if anything.”

“Huh… I always thought spirits were all these wise, ancient beings full of knowledge and stuff,” Lykou said, scratching his head. “Other than you know, ghosts and such maybe.”

“Well, they might be, but maybe only in specific areas related to their domain or whatever,” the sereva responded. “Like birds know all about flying, but that’s about it.”

“I guess that makes sense,” Lykou said, then yawned again. “Well… as long as it’s not a threat, I’m going to get back to bed. Wake me if it comes back, though. Especially if it seems to be getting angry.”

Kuna smirked. “Like I said, galdra are pretty easy going. It’s not going to cause any trouble. It probably just relocated outside so it could continue its nap or whatever.”

“I didn’t even know spirits napped,” the konuul said in mild amusement.

“Many don’t, as far as I know. These guys are kind of lazy though,” Kuna said with a light chuckle.

“Heh, lazy spirits. Now I’ve heard everything,” Lykou mused aloud. “Well, anyway, goodnight again, Kuna.”

“Sweet dreams, Lykou.”

*****

An hour or so passed, and the konuul was sound asleep. Again, Kuna was poking at the fire, when suddenly he felt a presence. Yet again, like the previous night, he suddenly realized a pair of eyes were staring back at him from the fire. He jumped slightly, albeit less than the last time. “Oh, h-hi,” he quietly said as the spirit slowly rose from the flames.

“Good evening, Kuna,” the spirit said. “You seem surprised to see me.”

“Sorry, just,” Kuna explained a little nervously. “I was starting to think last night was some kind of weird dream.”

“That’s understandable. The astral realm does pull from the same places as the dreamscape.”

Kun stared at the spirit for a moment, but decided to save some questions for later. “And I’m s-still kind of getting used to, you know… the idea of actually talking with spirits. Lykou and I actually bumped into a galdra right in this cave a little while ago. And it… well, sort of ‘spoke’ to us. I guess this mountain is popular with you guys?”

“Everywhere is ‘popular’ with us, Kuna,” the spirit said, chuckling, as it started to float around some. “We just don’t always bother manifesting in a way mortals can typically see, most of the time. But yes, this mountain is unusually attuned to the spirit world. To a small degree.” The spirit paused for a moment. “As for the galdra, I assume they didn’t have much interesting to say.”

Kuna shrugged. “Wasn’t very chatty, no. Didn’t even talk the same as you.”

“Many don’t,” the spirit said, settling back onto the top of the fire for a moment. “Some don’t even bother learning mortal words at all. It’s a shame, really.” Its eyes seemed to size him up for a moment. “You’ve had an eventful day.”

Kuna looked away with his ears drooped a bit. “Yeah. We got attacked.”

“And your pride was injured more than your flesh, I see.”

The sereva winced at the accusation. “You can see that, huh?” he said with a somewhat ashamed look, rubbing his arm.

“It’s not uncommon for new initiates to get overconfident at first,” the spirit assured him. “Given your own special circumstances, it was perhaps even more understandable than usual.”

Kuna sighed. “Nice of you to say so. But I still feel stupid.”

“Everyone has foolish moments. What is important is that you learn from them,” the spirit said. “Anyway, let’s begin your first lesson, shall we?”

“R-right,” Kuna said, straightening up and taking a deep breath. “So… what do I do?”

“After your awakening, you felt something,” the spirit said, more a statement than a question. “Think back to that feeling and focus on it. What was it like?”

Kuna thought for a minute. “That… that’s hard to describe. Like I was aware of something new, but… I don’t know, it’s like it’s there and not there at the same time, and I can’t even begin to explain what it is. Or even how I know.”

“Like the air, perhaps? You know its there, you breath it, and you can definitely feel its absence. But try describing it without referring to its effects.”

“Something like that,” Kuna said with a small shrug.

“What you’re sensing for the first time, at least to any conscious level, is the flow of different energies from the spirit world into the mortal world. They’re always there, always pouring into and through everything,” the spirit explained. “In particular, what you most likely felt more than anything else, was life energy flowing into your body.”

“Life energy?” Kuna asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Yes. The energy of life is the energy of growth, and change. It’s one of the most essential energies in the mortal world. For many initiates, especially sereva, it is the first form of mystical energy they become aware of, if not the only one.”

“Huh… so, what do I do with that?”

“Focus on it. Try and get a better feel for it. Close your eyes if you wish, some find that it helps.”

Kuna shut his eyes and tried to focus on the strange sensation he’d felt before. It was there, but it was slippery and hard to concentrate on. His brows furrowed as he tried repeatedly to wrap his mind around it.

“Be patient with yourself. This is a new sense, after all.”

Kuna took another deep breath and continued trying to focus. He was getting frustrated, but finally he started to feel like he was getting the hang of it. “I… think I’ve got it,” he said. Suddenly his eyes shot open. “Woah…”

“Ah, there it is,” the spirit said with a chuckle, floating around him lazily. “Well done.”

The sereva looked down at his body, then around at the cave around him. He couldn’t see it, but somehow he was suddenly aware of the energy flowing through him, and even into Lykou and some mushrooms poking out of part of the cave floor nearby. He could feel a faint connection to each of them. He could even vaguely sense the presence of some large roots deeper in the soil beyond the cave’s walls, most likely belonging to a nearby tree. A small smile crept onto his face. “That’s… really weird…”

“But exciting, yes?”

Kuna slowly nodded. “S-so now what do I do?”

“Take a moment to get used to it. So that it’s easier to recognize and grasp in the future,” the spirit said, drifting back into his peripheral vision on the other side. “And once you think you’re ready, try grabbing hold of it with your mind.”

Kuna gave the spirit a somewhat perplexed look. “Er… sorry if this is stupid, but what exactly does that mean?”

“You’ll know when you figure it out,” the spirit answered unhelpfully. “It’s not really something that can be explained in detail. But you’ll know. Like I said, just keep feeling it out. Remember, the energy is flowing into and through you. We spirits channel this energy into things all the time, acting like a bridge between worlds. Figure out how to be a bridge yourself, rather than just a recipient.”

The next couple hours passed in relative silence, other than some sighs, minor swearing, and other sounds of exasperation from the sereva as he tried to work figure out what he was doing, while the spirit simply floated around in silence. Finally he slumped back against the cave wall with a highly annoyed look on his face. “Well. At least I can feel it. Even if I can’t do anything with it. Guess I can avoid someone sneaking up on me, if nothing else.”

“Don’t give up, Kuna,” the spirit chided lightly. “You’re doing well so far. Just keep practicing. It’s all a matter of getting familiar with the energy first.”

The sereva straightened up a bit as he tried yet again to figure out what this ‘mentally grabbing’ thing might mean. After a minute he paused and glanced up at the spirit. “Don’t take this the wrong way, but… why are you even helping me with this?”

“You came to this mountain, a place known for people coming with questions and finding answers,” the spirit commented in a somewhat bemused tone. “And you wonder why I’m enlightening you?”

“Good… point,” the sereva responded with a small sheepish smile. “I guess I just wonder why me, but not Lykou. I feel selfish hogging all the ‘enlightenment’, you know?”

The spirit chuckled. “He will have his own discoveries in time. For now, you are the one whose soul was most loudly calling out for help.”

“That sounds kind of-”

“Cheesy, I know,” the spirit said. “But it’s the truth.”

Kuna stared blankly at the spirit for a moment. “What’s ‘cheesy’?”

The spirit mirrored his blank look for a moment, then looked away as it continued floating around. “Don’t worry about it,” it eventually said in what sounded like a slightly amused tone. “Anyway, continue practicing.”

Kuna raised an eyebrow for a minute, then shrugged and resumed focusing. He was about ready to give up after a while, when suddenly he felt something change. Suddenly, his hand started to shine with an ambient green glow. His eyes widened and a huge grin spread across his face. He started to call out to both the spirit and Lykou in his excitement, but he felt an invisible hand cover his mouth as the spirit quickly floated over to him.

“Shhh, your friend needs his rest,” the spirit reminded him. “Congratulations, though.”

Kuna felt the presence on his face release and he gave the spirit an odd look. For a floating fire spirit, he’d expected to feel more heat coming from it, especially if it had grabbed him like that- and the grab itself had felt like a normal person’s hand over his mouth, if anything. Much more tangible and physical than the odd sensation he’d felt when he touched the ghost several days before. But obviously, this spirit didn’t have any hands at all that he could see.

But after a moment he shook off the questions growing in the back of his mind as he returned to the source of his excitement and looked down at his glowing hand. “S-so what now?”

“Yet again, practice. Try letting it go and finding it again.”

Kuna hesitantly did as the spirit instructed. At first, he was frustrated that he couldn’t immediately manifest the glow again. But after a few tries, he got it back. He went through that loop several times, gradually finding it easier to do and swapping which hand he ‘grabbed hold’ of the energy with. On one occasion, he even managed to make both hands glow.

“That should do for tonight,” the spirit said. “Tomorrow, I will show you what you can do with it.”

Kuna slowly nodded as he stared down at his hands. “I can’t wait to sh-”

“Actually, you should hold off on showing off to Lykou,” the spirit interjected.

Kuna furrowed his brow and looked up in confusion. “Huh? Why?”

“Well for one thing, wait until you have more to show him than a funny little glow,” the spirit responded. “And for another, well… you’ll just have to trust me on this one. Lykou has a good heart, but he can be… overly-enthusiastic about some things and get distracted. Or distracting. You’ll know when the time is right. Just keep it to yourself for now.”

Kuna frowned and sighed. “Fine,” he mumbled, glancing back at the sleeping konuul. He was disappointed that he couldn’t show off his achievement, but if it meant having even more to show for it later, it was probably worth it.

“Now get some rest, Kuna,” the spirit said.

“Mm, still got a little while for that. I’m keeping watch and I want to give him as much time to sleep as I can.”

“Oh yes. That,” the spirit commented, then paused for a moment of thoughtful silence. “Well, I’ll be going now. Until your next lesson, Kuna. Sleep well when you do.”

“Goodn- oh, hey, I don’t think I ever got your name. Er, do elemental spirits have names?”

The spirit stared at him for a moment. Then, even though its eyes were the only visible part of its face, he got the distinct impression it was grinning at him. “We’ll save that for another lesson, too.”

Before he could respond, the hovering ball of fire puffed away into thin air.

That was weird, he thought to himself. Spirits are strange...

*****

Meanwhile, outside, some clouds were building up in the sky. The galdra shifted again as the wind carried the first hints of coming moisture. It let out a faint rumble of annoyance as it contemplated whether it was worth it to find a bettered sheltered area to rest.

Distant, silent flashes of lightning lit up the night sky- too far away for any thunder to be heard. But suddenly one of them briefly illuminated a dark, anthropomorphic silhouette leaning casually on the slope next to it.

The galdra shifted again as it took notice of the new presence. It sized them up for a moment before letting out another short, faint groaning sound.

An eerie, resonant voice chuckled. “That’s what I like about you galdra. Nothing intimidates you. I could be an ancient escapee fresh out of Dalzai-Nar and you’d be more concerned about having your naptime interrupted,” the stranger said. “Looks like rain’s a’comin’ though. Might want to duck back into the cave if you don’t want to get weathered.”

The stones again shifted around indifferently.

The shadowy individual sighed. “Alright look, I’ll be blunt. The boy needs his sleep and as long as he thinks he has to keep watch, he’ll drag it out all night using it as an excuse to play with his new little discovery instead of sleeping. As long as you’re there, nothing dangerous will approach this cave, and they’ll know they’re safe.”

The galdra shifted around and made a series of low thrumming sounds.

“I have other shit to do,” the stranger responded. “Just do it and I’ll make it worth your while. How’s some fresh quartz essence sound?”

The galdra was still and quiet for a moment, then finally responded with a slightly less-deep rumble before lifting up and drifting back towards the cave.

“There’s a good lad,” the shadowy figure said as a crooked, toothy smile with an indigo glow formed over their face, just moments before they vanished in another flash of lightning.

*****

Kuna was slightly startled when the galdra returned to the cave. He strongly doubted it was necessary, but he decided to wake Lykou anyway, just in case. “Er, sorry to bother you, but the galdra is back,” he said when the konuul groggily sat up. “Still pretty sure it’s fine, but you did say to let you know.”

Before Lykou could respond, the galdra sent them a new message- first one of safety, then restfulness. “Huh… I think it’s… saying it’ll protect us for the night?” he said with a sleepy tone. “Am I getting that right?”

“I… think so,” Kuna said with an arched brow. “Um… thank you?”

Suddenly they both noticed some flashing in the distance and finally took note of how much cloud cover had built up. “Damn. Looks like a storm is moving in. Good thing we found this cave,” the konuul noted.

Kuna nodded. “Yeah, wonder how long it’ll last,” he said, then glanced over at his friend with a nervous look. “Hope this one’s just a normal storm. I don’t want to wake up in another, even weirder place.”

Lykou glanced back, then shrugged. “Or it might take us back home,” he pointed out. “Either way I doubt it though. That looks like normal lightning.”

“True…” The sereva stared out at the distant light show for a moment, then quickly dove under the blanket and cuddled up to Lykou, clinging to him with a small grin. “Just in case, though, I’m not letting go.”

The konuul chuckled and wrapped his arms around the sereva. “Works for me. Lets get some sleep.”

“G’night Lykou. Again.”

“Goodnight again, Kuna,” the canid replied, then briefly looked back to the galdra. “And thank you again for keeping watch for us.”

The galdra sent out a message of indifference.