Hi all. Boy I'm exhausted. Here's a bit more of a day in the life of the Boggans. It was a fun chapter to write, and I especially enjoyed introducing General Hortensia because I need more female Boggans in the world. And what is this "heart of fire" everyone keeps comparing with MK? Ponder ponder ponder.
Chapter 9. Hortensia
Dagda clambered down the exterior of the Hollow, followed closely by Amianth. His injury still twinged when he extended his right arm, but he pretended not to feel it. If Amianth saw him flinch, he might have been able to convince her not to tell MK, but Amianth kept nothing secret from his dad.
The screech of a familiar grackle gave the two young Boggans pause, and they turned and looked to see Rukgar, his father's mount spiraling down toward the Hollow.
"He's back early," Dagda said.
"Either things went very well or very badly," replied Amianth.
Dagda continued down the ledge, but stopped when Amianth didn't follow. "Are you coming or not?"
"Maybe we should go back. The Stomper didn't get permission to let you out."
"I'm not some pet spider, Ami. I can go out if I want. Besides, if I have to lie down again, I'm going to break something in half."
Amianth shrugged. "Fine, then. But don't blame me if the Chief gets mad."
Dagda grinned. "He's always in a bad mood. Come on, Ami, let's go!" He almost broke into a run down the slope, but his scars tweaked, reminding him of MK's warning. She was tiny and frail compared to most of the Boggans, but there was something in her eyes that honestly kind of scared him when she got mad. It was like she was daring him to find out what she could do if he pushed too far. Dagda decided he wasn't stupid enough to try it, especially if she had the spine to shout at even his dad without backing down. Anyone that fearless was not to be messed with.
They made their way to a boneyard, where a group of soldiers were gambling with stones. The group looked up when Dagda approached. A couple of them saluted casually.
"Dagda," one of them drawled. "Knew an old arrow wouldn't keep you down long."
"Course not, Marrow. Do I look like a squishy larva to you?" Dagda squeezed his way into the circle. "I coulda picked my teeth with it."
Amianth kicked Marrow in the shoulder lightly. "Move over more, lump-head!" The two tussled briefly over the right for space, ending with Amianth socking Marrow's large nose.
"Ow! Fine, Wingthief, I'm moving."
Amianth situated herself to Dagda's left, and they sat watching the game, occasionally stealing snacks from their friends.
"Where's Hortensia?" Amianth asked, popping a handful of tiny crunchy beetles into her mouth.
Marrow looked at the Boggan across from him called Skinner. "Skins, where's the general?"
The mosquito glanced behind him. "Dunno. She went off to do stuff."
"Stuff?" Marrow scoffed.
"She can do whatever she wants. She's the boss, not me," Skinner groused.
"Idiot," Marrow said. He turned back to Dagda. "Anyway, wanna tell us what's up with that weird looking Jinn that came with you? People been talking about it ever since you got back."
"Oh yeah, MK. She's not a Jinn. Apparently, she's one of the Stompers, except she got shrunk so now she's our size," Dagda said.
The group all scrunched their faces in confusion. "Huh?"
"Something about the Draíochta, I think?" Dagda rubbed the back of his neck.
"You mean the Jinn's forest magic?"
"Yeah, like that. It made her small," said Dagda.
Skinner narrowed his eyes. "How do you know it's not just a lying Jinn?"
"She has weird tools," Amianth interjected.
"And she doesn't know anything about the forest. Or the war," Dagda finished.
"That's it?" Marrow raised an eyebrow. "Doesn't mean it's a Stomper."
Dagda shrugged. "I don't know. Dad believes her."
Marrow balked. "Really? The Chief bought that?"
"I think it's more convincing in person," said Amianth. "I don't think the Stomper is the sort who lies. If you saw her, you would know."
"Well if the Chief believes it, then what do I know?" Marrow said. He gathered some of the pebbles and tossed them across the table, watching where they landed among the various chalky circles marked on the surface. "Yeah, three of four!" he cheered. The other soldiers grumbled and pushed over their bets.
"She saved my life, anyway," Dagda said.
"Oh, I thought you were a tough guy," Marrow joked.
Dagda threw one of the pebbles at his head. "Shut up, mud-brain! I still had to walk all the way through the borderlands with an arrow sticking out of me before she found me. Hey, did you know that it's bad if you yank the arrow out? You're supposed to leave it in."
"Are you crazy?" Skinner asked. He took his turn placing his bets before picking up the tossing stones.
"MK told me that. I thought she was crazy too, but she said it tears your insides up because the arrowheads are barbed."
The Boggans all cringed at the thought. "Didn't think of that," said Marrow.
Skinner tossed his stones and then grumbled at the result. "So how'd you get it out?"
"The Stomper cut it out," Amianth said. "And then she used a needle and thread to sew the wound shut. It was weird. She said the Stompers do it all the time, and it makes them heal faster and better."
Dagda nodded. "It worked. It's only been a few days."
"Well, you were always a quick healer," said a new voice. A tall, lithe Boggan stalked into the boneyard. Any of the soldiers in the area toned down their rowdiness the moment they noticed her presence. She carried a long polearm with a curving bone blade extending from the end.
Amianth got to her feet, pounding her fists together in salute. The others at the table scrambled to follow suit. "Aunt Hortensia."
Hortensia held out a hand, and they sat back down. "So formal, as always, Ami," she said with a smile.
"Did you meet with the Chief?" Amianth asked.
The general nodded. "Yes, we and the rest of the generals were discussing our next move." She looked up at the afternoon sky. "The anniversary of the Full Moon Solstice is upon us."
"What's special about that?" Dagda asked. The other Boggans in the group nodded.
Hortensia shook her head. "I suppose most of you would not know of it. It's the night of the Brightwood queen's succession. Each Full Moon Solstice, she relinquishes her power and their Draíochta chooses a new queen of growth."
Amianth's eyes widened. "That! That's important. How did you find out about it?"
"Mandrake did. I don't know where or how exactly."
"He didn't tell me about it," Dagda said. He was a little insulted that he had to find out about something so big secondhand.
Hortensia glanced down at him, amused. "It took him a while to get that information. Even I only just learned of it recently. I'm sure he has something important for you to take part in. Just be patient."
Dagda brightened. "You think so?"
She dipped her head. "Of course. So you'd better take care of your injuries if you want to make sure you are well enough to convince Mandrake that you're ready."
"I am ready!" The stitches prickled in his leg, and he masked his wince, but Hortensia's eyes flicked down for half a moment. Dagda composed himself feeling a blush creep onto his face. No one else had noticed, but Hortensia's eyes could track a gnat through the mists of winter. Amianth had to inherit her sharp vision from somewhere after all.
Hortensia's lip quirked up. "Even so."
"So are there any plans we need to know about, general?" Marrow piped up.
"For the Solstice, we are still in discussion." Hortensia paused, as though debating her next words. She turned to Dagda. "However, as Mandrake tells it, we still have an arrowhead that doesn't belong to us." Her expression was unreadable when she spoke, and Dagda wished he was as good as his dad at analyzing people. Hortensia smiled at him again. "You're strong. You won't be needing a caretaker much longer." She turned, the blade of her polearm sweeping a line in the dirt as she walked away across the boneyard.
"Uh, did she actually tell us anything about plans?" Marrow asked.
Amianth glanced at Dagda, and he recognized the look. "Dad's going to join the next fight," he said finally.
The gamblers froze and turned to face him. "Whoa, what? The Chief's getting in? Before the Solstice? I thought we would be getting ready for that."
Dagda shook his head. "Yeah, I know. But this is personal."
When Marrow and the others continued to stare at them, Amianth added, "You don't think the Jinn could get away with nearly killing Dagda and it would just be business as usual?" The soldiers nodded in understanding.
The shadows were growing long on the ground as sunset drew nearer. Dagda remembered MK's caveat about returning by sundown. He glanced at Amianth who caught his meaning and nodded.
"We should go. I'm not supposed to be out too long. Getting well and all that stuff," Dagda told his friends.
"Yeah, take care of that." Marrow waved at them as they headed back to the Hollow.
Dagda and Amianth made their way up the winding climbing paths spiraling around the outside of the Hollow. Hortensia didn't need to be so oblique about the impending attack and his dad's planned involvement—or about MK for that matter. The unspoken message buried in her statement passed right beneath the comprehension of the other Boggans in the boneyard, meant only for him and Amianth to understand. Amianth and her aunt were similar in that way, how they liked to say things without actually saying them. It took him years to figure out how it worked. Then again, he lived with his dad, who hardly said anything, verbally or not.
"What're you thinking about?" Amianth asked.
Dagda paused to catch his breath. His chest injury strained with against his inhalations. "I think General Hortensia was trying to say something else. Why didn't she just tell us that Dad was planning to get revenge, instead of hinting at it like that?"
"Maybe she had something to say that she didn't feel comfortable saying openly," Amianth said, coming up alongside him.
"Like what?"
Amianth stared out at the expanse of the Wrathwood from their vantage point. They could see the light of the small bonfires that were blooming to life across the landscape as the evening crawled over the sky. "Like an opinion she wouldn't want the Chief to get wind of from any old messenger."
"You mean she wants me to tell my dad something?"
"Not exactly, if I know her at all." Amianth faced him directly. "What do you think? About your father getting into this fight."
Dagda resumed their hike. "I don't know. It doesn't seem strategic. Which he usually always is."
"Yeah, this isn't his normal tactic."
"Especially not before such an actually important event like the Solstice. Maybe that's why your aunt told us about it like that." Dagda had thought it strange that the general so casually told them about some important plans, especially to a group of average troops. "She wanted us to know there was something more important coming up." He paused as another thought made his stomach twist. "You sure she doesn't want me to talk him out of it? You know how he gets when it's personal."
Amianth stared at him, puckering her lips in shared nervousness. "No, I don't think she would want that. She could just tell him herself. She's not scared of him."
Dagda scuffed the ground with his heel. "He just gets so touchy about the war all the time. I can't even tell if he actually wants me to be a part of it or if he wants me to sit in my room all day and hide under the blankets. On one hand, he really seemed to encourage me when I got strong enough to fight, but he gets so grouchy whenever I question his decisions. Even if it's a tiny little question."
They found the window that led to his room, and they slipped inside. He could see MK sprawled out on the ground, using her bag as a makeshift pillow. The Boggans entered the room as quietly as they could.
"Maybe my aunt was trying to give you a window into the decision-making in this war. I mean, we're of age. Pretty soon we'll be the ones giving the orders," whispered Amianth. "We'll need to learn about this stuff too."
"I don't know if I want the war to be going on long enough for that to happen," Dagda said. "It's been going all our lives. What's it like to not be in one?" He sat down on his bed and rested his chin on his knees.
Amianth mirrored his posture. "Well maybe the Chief has plans for us to win once and for all with the Full Moon Solstice coming up."
Dagda huffed. "Then he shouldn't pick a fight now because of me. He's the leader, he's not supposed to make it personal. Right? Isn't that what leaders are supposed to do?"
"So," Amianth said, peering at him, "does that mean you want to talk him out of it?"
"No way. I don't want him getting all mad at me. He's already being a huge grump since I got hurt." He fell silent for a moment. "Do you think I should? Talk to him I mean."
"Only if you want to. It's your head that would be on the chopping block, not mine," said Amianth. They twitched when MK stirred, letting out a soft groan before she shifted positions and settled back into slumber.
"I wonder what's going to happen to her once I'm better," Dagda said.
"Who knows? He might do anything once she stops being useful to us," replied Amianth. She scrunched her face up in disapproval as she examined the pinkness that MK exuded, from the flush of her skin to the color of her clothes. "Especially because she looks so much like a Jinn. So pale and fleshy, ugh." Her gaze flitted around the room before landing back on him, and its intensity made him tense. "You care about her." There was no judgment in the statement.
Dagda tried to shrug as casually as he could. "She saved my life. She didn't have to do that. I feel like if I were in that situation, I would want people to help me, not try to kill me." MK, at least, knew what she believed in and fought for it. Something more important than yourself, they'd agreed, but Dagda wasn't sure if what he was fighting for was worth it. He couldn't even stand up to his dad about it, but he was sure MK would have gotten into that argument in a heartbeat and even won. She was a flame that, maybe if he kept around long enough, would light up his own courage as well. Heart of fire indeed.
MK opened her eyes and lurched upright. Darkness wrapped around her, and she rubbed her eyes. She scanned the room, struggling to make out anything in the bad lighting. The sound of shuffling caught her attention.
"Dagda? Amianth?" The forms in the room resolved as her eyes adjusted, until everything glowed under the blue starlight that filtered in through the windows.
"Hi, MK," Dagda said. "Amianth is out on a scouting mission." His shoulders slumped. "I wanted to join her, but I know I'm not allowed."
MK sat down next to him by his bed. "You still need to rest."
"That's what everyone keeps saying." He shifted his weight where he sat and picked at one of his fingernails.
"What's wrong?" MK asked.
"Nothing."
MK canted her head and looked down her nose at him with her best Grumpy Librarian stare. "Dagda."
"Nothing! I'm serious!"
"You don't have to tell me what's bothering you if you don't want to, but I know when someone is turning something over in their head," she said.
She watched him turn that something over and over, for nearly ten minutes without saying a word. "Where will you go when I don't need you to take care of me anymore?" he asked.
MK raised an eyebrow. "I don't think I can just leave anytime soon. I'm kind of stuck here." Her expression dropped. She rested her head on her knees. Time didn't move the same way in this tiny world. MK often felt as though she'd undergone a year's worth of adventure between a single rising and setting of the sun. Her dad might have been waiting a week, or maybe an entire month.
"Now you're turning something over in your head," Dagda said with a smirk.
"Well, since you posed the question to me, I'm trying to actually figure out how much longer I'll have to stay put." MK stared out into the darkness. Moonlight pooled in several sections of the floor, creating a patchwork of silver. "I wasn't planning for this, you know. To stay small. I want to go back to my normal size and be a regular human being again."
"I'm glad you didn't," said Dagda. His eyes darted down, avoiding her gaze. "I mean, if you went back to normal too soon, I might not be alive."
MK gave him a soft smile, hoping he could actually see it. "That's true."
"I hope you don't have to be stuck here for long too. If I knew how, I would help you try to figure it out," Dagda said. "Since you helped me a lot already. It's only fair."
Warmth bloomed in her chest, and she found her smile stretching into a grin. "Thank you, Dagda. You've already been a big help though."
He tilted his head like a curious bird. "How?"
"I look like your worst enemy. How many steps could I honestly have taken into Wrathwood without getting beat up or killed?"
Dagda's eyebrows furrowed. "Um, you're kind of scary, you know. When you're mad? I bet everyone would have done whatever you told them."
MK put a hand to her heart in mock indignation, miming Nod's classic gesture. "Am I really that bad?"
He snickered. "You're kind of that bad."
"I was terrified, you know!"
"No, I'm serious, I bet you even make my dad nervous."
That had her doubled over with laughter. When the ridiculousness stopped making her spit out fits of giggling, she said, "Seriously, though, it was a big help that you came to my defense. You didn't even know I was a Stomper yet. You just trusted me."
"I don't know. It just felt right. And I didn't want to die." Their amusement fizzled out like a doused fuse. Dagda spoke in hushed tones, as though he were sharing a secret. "I was really scared. There was still so much walking to do, but I wanted to just fall over. I was so tired, I couldn't fight you if you were an actual Jinn. But you fixed me up, and it made me feel like I could be brave again."
He looked up at her. "I'll make sure no one tries to hurt you here. Not even Dad."
MK's skin prickled. "Does he intend to hurt me?" From her one-on-ones with Mandrake, it didn't seem to be the case. But she barely knew the Boggan.
"I don't think so. But I never can tell with him. Sometimes I think I understand what he's thinking, but then he just decides something, and I'm confused all over again," Dagda said.
She could tell it frustrated him. From what she saw, it was obvious Mandrake cared about his son, but maybe didn't know how to show it so that Dagda knew. A pang shot through her chest as she thought about her own bewildered father, struggling to figure out what MK needed and when she needed it. Lost without Mom, she thought. Dagda's own mother wasn't there, and Dagda implied she had died, but MK had no idea when.
Dagda's current position was one MK remembered well—all the years she spent trying to understand why she couldn't connect with her dad. Why isn't he replying to my letters, Mom? Why won't he call? Isn't he coming for Christmas? She could see the mirror image of her nine-year-old self sitting before her, pondering the ways he could do things differently, how he could do things better. MK floundered with the words that danced on the tip of her tongue. How could she, without sounding presumptuous or without furthering his confusion, assure Dagda that it wasn't his fault?
In the end, the words didn't make it out. She reached over and placed a hand on his shoulder, giving it a comforting shake. The two of them sat in silence, listening to the distant symphony of crickets floating through the night, waiting for Amianth to return.
Chapter 10 comes out some time next week. Unfortunately, I do not have an excerpt, title, or date of release for the upcoming chapter, as I am graduating next week and my family is coming for the festivities and there are many loose ends to tie up, so I'm currently flying by the seat of my pants with the updates. But I promise there will be an update next week. It will, in all probability, actually be earlier than the usual Friday updates, since I'm most likely going to just sit down and grind it out early on. Let's posit Wednesday night for my target deadline as my schedule kind of goes to hell after that.
