Chapter 11 - The trip to the forest of the Bat Queen part II
~ONE~
The Bat Queen stood and stared at them, not making any action.
But then the hard lines of the Bat Queen's face seemed to soften, and her gaze melted into something less predatory and more warm. "Hello, the children of the Owl Lady."
"Greetings, the Bat Queen." Iniko said bowed his head to her. Luz followed suit.
After that the three monster babies poked their heads up from their mother's hair to looked at them. They all let out a small happy sound and jump out of Bat Queen's black hair.
"Hi, little fellas." Iniko smiled as three babies energetically flies around them.
Then one of babies gently sat on top of Luz's head. The small creature snuggle into her hair. A second later, the other bat baby slipped into her hood causing Luz to smile. This version of three bat babies seemed much more friendly than this one she meet in her world.
Maotif meowed, startling Luz, "Maotif?"
The feline palisman mewed again, quieter this time, eyes widely fixed on something between trees. Then the cat flew around her owner head a few times before settling down a nearby rock, Hawky joined to her. Bat Queen's eyes glowed bright yellow with Maotif and Hawky's doing the same.
In the meantime, the bat baby decided it was bored of Luz's head and leapt up onto Iniko's shoulder to make small squeaking noises and sniffed his ear.
"It's not a chew toy, Junior." Iniko said when the bat creature started chew one of his earring. The bat baby just started to chew on boy's ear in response to Iniko's words. "You're lucky you are cute."
"Kids playtime's over." the Bat Queen said before she suddenly whistled. Three babies flew back into her hair.
"So, what our mission is? Drive the demon from forest? Get rid of Emperor's Coven traps? Find a lost palisman?" Iniko asked the Bat Queen, wiping drool off his ear.
"Healing the most victims. I'll bring them up here." the Bat Queen just said before walked into darkness of forest.
"I think we should get to work." Iniko pulled the backpack off of his back and set it on the large rock. He then pulled a tray, pestle, and grinder. And he started to toil at them; emptying multiple small bags of odd materials into them along with several glowing crystals.
"Where these things come from?" Luz took a one of bags, looking inside it. "I've never seen anything like this before."
"From the Skull Caves. But most of plants comes from mom's garden."
"Eda have garden?"
"Yes, but this garden is very far from home. So, Hooty can't eat plants." Iniko kept working; mixing and grinding up something in the pestle that included, but was not limited to crushed scales, surge crystals, orange peels, something that looked like moss, and about four other items. Luz helping him, chopping the few kind of roots and other things from her bag with a cleaver.
Less than two minutes later, Iniko put down the peastle and said, "And now the last step."
He draw spell circle and fired a brief spurt of a magic energy into the pestle, short enough it flash fried what was inside. When he finished, it looked like some sort of powder filling the pestle like a bowl.
"Why do we need this powder?" Luz asked, looking at slightly sparkling powder like dust in the bowl.
"The powder, as you call it, is a special mixture of plants and crystals which rapid healing of wounds." The boy stir it again for few seconds, "The Bat Queen will bring a few palismans and we will use this powder to draw a healing glyph on the seriously wounded palismans. And aid them in healing."
"I don't know that glyph."
"I forgot you know only a four glyphs." Iniko looked around for something to draw with and saw a large stick with a small branch on it, he quickly got it before sitting next to Luz and pulling the small branch off.
"It looks like this." He said and quickly drawing the glyph on the ground.
The healing glyph was a full circle with a hourglass shape. In the lower and upper part were curly loop with the dots between the two "arms".
Luz pulled out her phone, opening the camera and zooming in on the healing glyph. She took the photo the second before the Bat Queen back with group of very different palismans, and told them to stand before two teenagers.
"Okay. Who goes first?" Iniko asked, looking at them.
Bat Queen looked at a rather small palisman. It was a quadruped, canine like palisman. It was covered in light fur with a spiky fringe around its tail. Its ears were large and pointed with black interiors, and its eyes and small nose were black. It had slender legs and small paws, each with three toes and a purple paw-pad.
"Her name is Vixens." the Bat Queen said, "Her right front paw is badly damage. She have trouble walking."
"Hi Vixens. I'm Iniko." He kneel down, offering a hand, "You don't have to be afraid. We are friends."
Vixens sniffed him for a moment, pressed into the hand, and then let Iniko reached out to catch her in his palm, holding the being carefully.
He dipped his finger in the powder and draw the healing glyph on the palisman leg. And then slowly and very carefully put it down on the ground to his right. Vixens sniffed, but not touched the glyph.
"You'll have you good as new in a second." The teenager tapped the glyph quickly as it gave of a royal blue glow, the palisman's eyes widened as Vixens felt of rush of magic exploding from her body like a palisman was in an anime. Five seconds later, the glow's gone out of her body.
Vixens stepped on her newly healed paw and made few steps before jumped on the boy's shoulder. Luz smiled as she watched Vixens licked the side of Iniko's face before jumped off him and skitter forwards to join the others palismans.
"Your turn, Luz." Iniko said as he handed a bowl to her.
Luz looked at the next an injured palisman. It was a bat.
A bat was primarily black with a light blue underbelly and greenish turquoise wing membranes. His left wings was full of holes. It had purple eyes, a white triangular marking on the inner corner of each eye and three tufts of spiked fur on each cheek. Its large, teardrop-shaped ears resemble loudspeakers; they were dark green on the outside with alternating rings of pale and dark blue fading to black on the inside. A mane of shaggy, light blue fur surrounds its neck.
"This is Ekko." the Bat Queen said with hint of adoration in her voice.
"Hello Ekko." Luz said and walked over to the palisman, letting the bat sniff her and decide if he liked the human or not. It was proven he did when he pressed into Luz's hand, squeaking with all the attention.
The teenage girl mimicked Iniko's actions from earlier. She dipped her finger in the bowl, drew a healing glyph on a palisman's body and then activated the glyph.
Ekko recovered 100 percent from that wounds, but he still sitting on Luz palm.
"Go on," encouraged the Latina, putting her other hand under the little palisman. "Fly..."
Luz raised her hands a little higher, which caused Ekko to looked nervously.
He turned to watch Maotif, Hawky and the Bat Queen babies fly around them like they were trying to show him how use his wings, and he still sitting in Luz's hands.
"It's been a while, right?" The girl asked.
Ekko chirped in distress, still refusing to fly. And Luz came to realize why.
"There's nothing wrong with being afraid." Luz assured Ekko and held him level with her face. The little creature looked at her.
"Fly, Ekko," encouraged Luz once again, smiling at him. "Everything will be okay."
The palisman glided down from Luz's hands, and when he did, Ekko was so unstable that he nearly crashed right into the ground, barely stopping his plummet by catching the wind under his wings. He hovered motionlessly for a few seconds, and fluttered his wings rapidly. He get higher and fly for several seconds, very happy.
The palisman flew over and chirped joyfully before nuzzled a girl's cheek. Luz giggled when she felt it tickle.
"You welcome." She said, scratch his little tummy. The palisman gave an adorable little noise.
After Ekko finally fly away from the girl, Bat Queen presented another palisman, called Striker.
It was a snake with a white neck and face with a pointy snout, and with pale-green designs on the top of its head. It has a small pale onyx circle on the center of its forehead, and pale crimson eyes with dark blue sclerae. Its lower body was a patterning of blue, diamond-shaped scales outlined with black. Its magnificent tail, reminiscent of that of a male peacock, contains seven feathers.
He was very temperamental and slithered between trees before Luz drew the full glyph on his scales.
"I will handle this. My best friend's a half gorgon, so I know how to deal with the moody reptile." He took a bunch of powder and looked at the Latina. "Luz, would you take care of the rest?"
"No problem." She smile, walking to the waiting palismans.
Next was a ox-like tiny palisman. It was 4 inches tall with grayish blue fur and with narrow black eyes. It also had small nostrils, lighter grayish brown ox horns on its head, and a three long and skinny tails with a thicker tip. His name was Nautt. He was very distrustful until Luz scratched behind ox's ear, causing the palisman to start shaking its hoof like a dog.
Then was very energetic goldish fur monkey with three faces. His name was Alouachimp. He was more interested in Luz's bag than he was getting his cracked head fixed.
The palisman with the elephant head and body of a lion was next in line for the healing. Trombipulor was his name. He was very old and fell asleep after his trunk and back were just fixed.
The last one was Doph. It was palisman that share physical traits with both aquatic and land animals. His body was light grey with a dark blue marking around its head and a spiky ridge down its spine. There a white fin encircling his neck and three fins with cream-colored webbing on its head. He also had three small toes on each foot and dark blue paw pads on the hind feet.
His body was damp, so Luz needed a moment to draw healing glyph on his fin.
And then when she finally do that, Iniko returned with snake fangs punctures all over both arms and cured Striker wrapped around his wrist.
"All right, I guess we're done." The boy said as he watched Doth nuzzle Luz's cheek.
"Not yet." the Bat Queen said, "Noir time to show up."
The gentle rustling of wings and leaves, as well as a startled meow as a dark figure stumbled out of the tree-line, caused the both teenagers to turn around. Standing up straight and looking at them, was horned black cat with bat wings. It must have been a great dignity and beauty once. But now its body was covered with intricate web of cracks, and its wins were full of holes.
Luz had tears in her eyes, and felt compassion for cat. Iniko was just angry. He can't believe someone was able to hurt this palisman so much.
"Poor soul." She said and take step towards feline palisman but Noir flopped down as if to guard himself from predators.
"Woah. Relax. We won't hurt you." Iniko said.
Noir curled his lips to reveal glistening fangs. And then his eyes glowed, the Bat Queen speaking to the palisman as her eyes glowed too.
"You need help." the Bat Queen said before pointing her wing to Luz and Iniko. "They can help."
Noir just hissed, their eyes returning to normal.
"Great. How to help somebody who doesn't let us get closer?" Iniko asked, while Luz trying to convince the palisman they are friends. But horned cat just hissed and almost bite her. He even didn't listen to the Bat Queen.
"I don't know but we can't leave him in this state." Suddenly Luz feel the weight of Maotif on her shoulder. "Maybe you should try talk with him."
Maotif didn't look eager for it.
"Please."
The winged cat head-butted her and jumped down onto the ground. Noir's heart pounded beneath his thick fur and he held his breath, not moving a muscle as other cat started slowly towards place he stood, her tail twitching slightly.
"Meow" Noir sat very still, watching Maotif. His amber eyes sparkle.
"Meow." She replied, stretching her hind legs and tail. He allowed her to come closer.
Maotif sniffed the other feline creature. For a while it seemed Noir might attacked her but then Maotif licked his head.
A gentle purrs rumbled from Maotif' throat as she groomed Nori's face, the black cat purring in return. Then Maotif turned to look at Luz, her purr ratcheting up a notch in intensity and volume.
Noir looked towards the human girl. Maotif started walking towards the teenager, and other cat followed her. When two cats were barely a tail length away, Luz bent down and Iniko take a couple of steps back.
The Latina inclined a bit towards Noir, whose fur was now standing up and he growled, deep in his throat. Maotif hissed at male cat. He hissed back in response, but slowly come closer to Luz.
"I understand it must be hard for you to trust someone after you've been hurt. But could you try to trust me? I want help you." She put the bowl with magic powder on the ground.
As the palisman smelling the bowl, Noir suddenly sneezes, which completely surprises Luz with its cuteness.
Luz gasped with a blush and sparkles in her eyes. "Oh, era tan lindo."
Noir looks at her for a few seconds before sit down with his back to her. Luz take that as a permission to healing him. But she asked if she can touched him. The palisman made confirmation sound.
Drawing the glyph on his black fur, Luz definitely felt eyes on her. She slightly turned her head and out of the corner of her eye she saw the Bat Queen was watching her. The wealthiest demon's eyes radiated a some emotion. It was impossible to tell exactly what it was. But If Luz had had to name it, a girl supposed she would have called it approval.
She tapped the glyph and made Noir feel like a new palisman.
Noir and Maotif butted their head against each other, and purred one last time. After that Maotif returned on top of staff, and Noir went up into sky.
"Good job the children of the Owl Lady." the Bat Queen said when all palisman disappeared into the trees. "Here's your fee."
She handed Iniko bag with the large amount of snails, and then puke the small oval shaped bottle out.
The container itself was a lovely feminine pink color, with a ruby red liquid gel inside. The gel seemed to have a slight illumination from within it, barely visible but it was there nonetheless. Strangely, it appeared as if the gel was slowly flowing in a circular pattern even though the bottle was being held still. Its aura seemed almost… magical.
"It's for Eda." She explained as Luz pick up the bottle.
"What's it?" Iniko asked, looking at a bottle.
"Potion." Bat Queen smiled before her children climbed into her hair, and she flying away into a tree in the distance.
"Is she always give rather vague answers to simply questions in your world, too?"
~TWO~
The Bat Queen said nothing. She just stood there staring at Luz... The Latina have this weird feeling in her stomach when the wealthiest demon looked at her so thoroughly.
Then the Bat Queen facial expression has changed.
Luz tried to read the Bat Queen's expression at this point, because she immediately recognized that it wasn't a look of hostility or enmity. It was more like... Cognition. The look of someone who had been puzzling over something for a long time, and had only now figured it out.
"You're different."
"What?" Luz said in astonishment.
And the Bat Queen responded harshly, "You are different human."
Luz was great puzzled by her fast deduction. The teenager then blurted out.
"I'm the same person."
"You look like her but you are not her." the Bat Queen said a bit dry.
It seemed worse to lie about it when an excuse clearly wouldn't be believed, "How you know that?
"It's your eyes." the Bat Queen said in a matter-of-factly voice, "I can tell a lot by looking at the people's eyes."
"The eyes are good snack, not a someone diary." King commented.
The Bat Queen looked at him in an disgruntled manner, causing the little demon to squealed and hid behind Luz's legs.
There was a long pause.
Luz, deciding that it was time to break the silence said, "You are right, I'm different human. My name is Luz Clawthorne, I come from alternate world that differs from yours. I came in this Boiling Isles by accident."
"And you come to my nest because?" Her tone was neutral but Luz noticed a hint of curiously in her eyes.
"I want to return to my universe."
The Bat Queen looked down at her. "I can't send you to your home."
"I know." Luz replied, "But I thought maybe you could have some information that I can you to found way to my home."
"What's in it for me?"
Luz hesitated answering. She didn't expect this. "...I'll owe you?"
Bat Queen's eyes were unreadable, but she nodded.
"I don't know much about spell that's brought me here." The teenage girl begin, "That's why I want to know if anyone switched places with himself from another universe before me? Is there anybody you could help me find a way to get me home?"
The Bat Queen said nothing, considering the question for a moment.
"In Boiling Isles there were never any situation like this."
"I understand." Luz said, failing to prevent her face from falling.
Silence filled the place again, only the rustling of leaves being heard every now and then.
"But was a man who travel through many worlds. He was searching for a way back to his homeland other world."
The Bat Queen said and then spit out a small piece of wood with curious symbol burned on its. "He was trying to find object with this symbol."
"Why?"
"He kept saying he needed it. Maybe you need this too."
"What's this symbol?"
"I'm not telling you. If you want answer, you're going to have to find it yourself." the Bat Queen said, clearly signalling that the conversation was over from her perspective.
Luz looked at symbol, it wasn't much but it was better than nothing "Thanks for your help."
"I didn't help. I gave you a tip." The Bat Queen said, flying away.
"What now?" King asked.
The teenage girl thought for a moment. "Let's get going to the library."
Thanks for reading! See ya next time