Chapter 20 – Nasty News
-.-.-.-.-.
Ever since the… incident with Spark, the others were treating Sera differently. Or so Sanguis assumed. He hadn't known them for long enough to be sure of how they usually treated her, but just based on the interactions he had been there to witness, they were reacting differently to her presence.
When Sanguis was first put under Sera's care, she had been largely ignored, and then snapped at with the utmost hostility whenever she stuck her neck out. He got the feeling that it was because of what she was, an 'Unknown'. Whatever the reason, Sera's existence was a lonely and miserable one. He was her only companion, and he didn't mind that. She fed him, and taught him things, and respected his personal space. He didn't want to admit that he was warming up to her… but she was tolerable.
Anyway, now Sera was just flat-out ignored. She would speak up, and no-one would reply. She would walk down an occupied street, and it would clear in seconds. She would enter the room, and it would be like a suffocating blanket being dropped on an otherwise cheery atmosphere. Even that annoying green girl that liked to sing, Melody, clammed up when Sera was there.
They weren't doing it for the same reason they previously snapped at her, Sanguis was sure. The spite just wasn't there anymore. No, it was more like they were uncomfortable, or even secretly afraid.
He sure as heck wasn't. Perish the thought. But the Baruragaru-boy's new, curious human mind liked to speculate, and he imagined that he would certainly be scared if he were in the position of one of them. It brought to him a strange clarity that let him understand the other hybrids a little better.
If he had been able to put this new emotion into words, and was willing to tell Sera about it, she would have called it 'empathy'.
"Yo, Swampy," a lazy voice called for his attention.
Sanguis lifted his head from where he had laid it on the floor and turned his eyes to Mike, the stinky fat one that Sera had said was originally a monster called a 'Congalala'. Right now, Mike was sitting on his couch with an empty bowl of food, scratching his beer-belly with his super-long claws.
"Mind passing me that bowl of mushrooms?" he asked, pointing with his tail at the indicated item.
Just then, Keyren spoke up. "Don't pay any attention to him, Swamp Boy. If Mike wants to stuff his face some more, he can get off his lazy ass and do it himself."
The Congalala-boy frowned. "But it's… so far…" he griped, waving his prehensile tail in an utterly pathetic attempt to reach the food that had caught his eye. "C'mon, Swampy, you're my only bro in here. Help a guy out, would you?"
"Sssss…" hissed Sanguis, not moving.
"Ugh, fine," Mike muttered. He flopped out of his seat with a single lurch, landing on his feet with shocking balance considering his huge stomach. "Guess I'll get it myself, like a guy with no friends…"
"Correction," Keyren snapped, clearly not in the mood to put up with the former fanged beast's hijinks. "Like a monster capable of functioning on his own. What is with you people? Sometimes I think Swamp Boy's the only one who understands me."
Sanguis perked up again, fins twitching. He never missed an opportunity to look at her. At this moment, she was leaning back in her chair, her tail spilling over the seat to rest its tip on the floor and her legs crossed casually in front of her. With her arms folded back and resting against the scaly shell covering her head, she was giving Sanguis a generous view of her exposed middle and nicely-rounded chest (unintentionally, but it didn't pay for a monster to be picky). The scowl on her face made her look fierce – strong and capable, in other words.
She shot a glance at him and chuckled. "Sometimes you're more like a baby Zinogre than a ruthless killer."
Was that a good or bad thing? Normally Sanguis would take that as a vile insult, but she was doing that thing where her lips lifted up to show her pristine teeth – smiling, was it called? So if she preferred him harmless, then it was okay?
Hybrids, he thought. I'll never understand them.
"Don't get him mad," advised Gekula, who was visiting the shelter. His seemingly useless tail allowed him to dangle from the ceiling, which he found preferable to sitting down in one of the chairs or on the floor.
"No-one asked you, you overgrown phallus," Mike grunted through a mouthful of mushrooms.
Melody and Yuki immediately started giggling uncontrollably, while Dissidia stared at them blankly.
"What?" asked the Khezu-boy, face crinkling into a sour expression.
Through a gale of chuckles, Keyren explained with great delight, "He's referring to how your species looks just like a giant d–"
Whizzzzzzz-THUNK.
A razor-sharp spine was suddenly sticking out of the arm of the Lagiacrus-girl's chair, inches from her own arm. On the other side of the room, Claire lowered her tail and blinked an ominous warning.
"No," she said simply.
"I'll kick your tail next time we have combat training, you kitten," Keyren muttered.
"We'll see," Claire replied.
Beside him, Sanguis heard Sera shifting in the shadowy corner she favored. He glanced at her, flicking his tongue out a couple of times.
"I tend not to draw attention to myself," she murmured to him. "Otherwise they start bothering me."
Sanguis nodded to show he understood. She brushed her bangs out of her eyes and held out a piece of leftover Kelbi meat from her lunch, which the Baruragaru-boy snatched up without a second thought.
All of a sudden, there was a rapid series of knocks on the door, drawing the attention of everyone in the room. Silence stretched out over the room for several seconds before Yuki, deciding that no-one else was going to act, raised her voice to whomever was outside.
"Who is it?" she called.
The door opened to reveal the twitchy, impatiently-waiting figure of Odon the Astalos-man, to the surprise of everyone present. Immediately, they noticed that Odon looked nervous, which was something that no-one had seen on his face.
Even Sanguis could sense that something was very wrong.
"Sue wants every hybrid at the old tavern," Odon told them, for once being serious. "We got a message from Duruhos, and it's really bad news. So get your tails in gear."
He turned around and spread his wings, taking off with a couple of clumsy flaps and heading toward the center of town.
One did not have to speak their thoughts for the others to know what they were thinking. Their confusion and worry were written all over their faces and expressed through each blink of their eyes. Keyren and Dissidia were frowning, clearly concerned but reserved enough to wait until they had all the facts before jumping to conclusions. In contrast, as the most outgoing of the group, Melody, Mike, and Yuki were the most visibly panicked. Claire didn't react at all, but her tail swished noticeably faster as if she was getting anxious. As for Gekula and Sera, the former's face was mostly hidden by his unruly mop of pale hair, and the latter had many years of experience when it came to hiding her emotions.
Bad news from Duruhos… Sanguis didn't know nearly enough about the lives of the hybrids or the world beyond their sanctuary to guess what it might be. He felt restless now, his fins vibrating and his tail flicking back and forth. His mind was aflame with intrigue and curiosity, but the negative energy given off by the other hybrids added a tinge of nervousness. The sensation was like a desire to know and a desire to not know. It was perplexing, and it further discomforted him.
The hybrids began to file out of their shelter one at a time. Sanguis immediately got up to dog Keyren's footsteps, but remembered that he may as well be with his caretaker. He paused and glanced back to see if Sera was following. She wasn't, but she was slowly getting up out of her chair, so that was something. He figured he may as well stay by his caretaker's side from now on – for one, the longer he hung around her, the more food he would get.
For another, she seemed to react positively to him being there. Or she seemed less tense. At least, that was the impression Sanguis got.
"Come on, Sanguis," Sera murmured, sounding relatively unconcerned. "We'll go with them and see for ourselves what this is about…"
From where they were, it wasn't far from the tavern that Odon had told them to gather at. The tavern was a large, open area that once served as a meeting place for hunters of the Loc Lac Hunter's Guild. Now, the shops were left empty and the bulletin boards blank. The benches were falling apart and the airships had stopped working a long time ago. Its time had passed, and would likely never rise again to its former glory.
But that didn't stop Sue and Odon, and Duruhos when he was present, from using it as a meeting place whenever there was big news to share with their people. All of the hybrids that Duruhos' scouts had found and gathered over five years were now clustering close together within the tavern's boundaries, filling in every available space. There were around seventy hybrids – indeed, for such a big city, there were very few inhabitants. But because there was only limited space even for the rather small number of hybrids, they did as much as they could to fit everyone inside. Flying monsters perched on the roofs of empty stalls and on the airships still tethered to their docks, while climbers like Gekula made themselves comfortable on top of the walls that surrounded the place.
Sanguis hissed lowly and drew closer to Sera. There were far too many individuals crowded inside one place for his liking. He kept his fins pricked high in agitation, unable to get rid of the sensation of others moving all around him. Whenever he let his tongue out to taste the air, he slipped it back in as quickly as possible, almost overwhelmed by the many different scents that filled the air.
At one point, he felt something brush his tail in passing. In his state of agitation, that was more than enough to set him off, and he whirled around with a sharp hiss, with his tongue already stretching out in preparation to stab. The offending hybrid, a strange-looking male wearing all grey, regarded him with confusion despite Sanguis' obvious threat display. The lack of a reaction frustrated Sanguis further, and he almost attacked right then and there…
"Calm down," Sera ordered sternly, glaring. "Leave Nehlar alone."
Bristling, Sanguis glared back at the Unknown-girl, but ultimately stood down. The threatening look she pinned him with was a far cry from the perpetual halfhearted light that usually streamed from her eyes. The unexpected fury she now turned on him was unwelcome and unexpected enough to settle him down instantly.
"Sssss…" he slurred.
Satisfied, Sera turned back to the front. Sanguis did as well, once he was sure the other hybrid was on his way. Said hybrid – Nehlar – edged away and found his own place in the crowd.
The two Elites that remained in the city stood atop a semicircular wooden counter in the very center of the tavern – the same place where Guild officials used to assign quests to hunters, back in the day. From here, the words of Odon and Sue would carry to the ears of all who listened. It was likely that the humans who had designed the tavern had built it in such a way for that purpose exactly.
"We have received a message from Duruhos," Sue called out. The low murmurs from the crowd ceased at the sound of her voice. "As some of you may or may not know, he has gone to another part of this region with Ray and Cindy. This message was sent with the help of a Wyverian Guild-Master and his Halk."
The Mizutsune-woman gestured to her side, where a blackish-red wyvern stood. Sanguis jumped a little when he noticed it – it was just like the Hawk-Thing he had encountered in the Swamp, the one that accompanied the human that had wounded him. So it wasn't only that one monster, but more as well, that affiliated themselves with these humans.
"What Duruhos has to say is extremely urgent," continued Sue, unrolling a small piece of parchment for the others to see. "Two hybrids were captured by an evil human known as the Tundra King. They are being take to the north of the region as we speak."
Odon went on from there. "His orders are for us – all of us – to flee Loc Lac and cross the desert to the Nameless region. There's a passageway through the southern mountains that'll lead us right to the Everwood, which we're going to travel through to reach our meeting spot with Duruhos."
The murmurs started up again, but not for long, as the Elites still had more to say.
"Everyone, start preparing immediately," Sue ordered. She spread her arms wide for emphasis, her flowery kimono fluttering in the breeze that had kicked up. "We'll board the sandships in the morning. For now, I need volunteers to help prepare the ships, as well as those with sailing experience to start hunting for tomorrow's breakfast. A lot of food will be needed."
As Sue and Odon started selecting hybrids from the crowd, the rest left the tavern and dispersed down the ruined streets. Sanguis caught a glimpse of Sera's short, dark hair getting farther away from him, and he immediately took off after her. He only slowed his pace once he was beside her again. He had no wish to get lost in this place, which he still found unfamiliar.
They met back with Keyren and the others at their shelter. Gekula was gone, presumably back to his own dwelling. No-one really felt like talking as they settled down for a night of sleep – even Melody was no longer her usual bouncy, irritating self, which suited Sanguis just fine. What didn't suit him was the uncertainty of this whole situation.
Frankly, he was glad they were leaving Loc Lac. The abandoned human city was unnatural and it discomforted him. But the circumstances under which they were leaving were worrisome – not that he wanted to confess that. If something was targeting these hybrids, then that left him at risk as well.
"Sssss…" he hissed to himself, wrinkling his nose in disgust at himself. Ever since he had woken up and found that he had been changed forever, nothing had been the same. His life had been one twist after another, and not even a week had passed so far.
He squeezed himself into the narrow gap between the seat of Sera's usual chair and the floor, and curled up into as much of a ball as he could in the limited space. It was cramped, but dark and cold, reminding him of the Swamp.
Minutes ticked by, and there was no sound except for the faint wind outside. Sanguis was beginning to think that the shelter's other inhabitants had already fallen asleep. That was not the case, however, as he suddenly heard a voice speak from somewhere beyond his dark confines.
"Loc Lac isn't so safe anymore, huh?" Mike commented, quietly. It sounded loud in the otherwise silent room, though.
"Not if a human that's been kidnapping others of our kind knows where to find us," replied Yuki.
Above him, Sanguis could hear Sera shifting in her seat, attempting to find a newer position in which she could get comfortable in and sleep.
"I've heard the Everwood is nice," Melody murmured somberly. "Maybe the Elites are planning on hiding us away in there for a while."
Sanguis felt something in his chest jump a little, as he always did, when Keyren was the one who answered. "No," the Lagiacrus-girl corrected her friend. "They said we're going to meet up with Duruhos somewhere around there. I think they're planning a rescue mission."
"But we know nothing about this evil human," Claire pointed out. Even the Lucent Nargacuga-girl sounded louder than usual.
"Duruhos probably does," Keyren shot back angrily. "Whoever it is that got kidnapped, we'll go in there and rescue them and then beat the hell out of the guy that did this."
As much as he wanted to agree with her, Sanguis couldn't really get behind the idea. It'd be safer to just not get involved. Focus on not ending up like whatever weaklings were foolish enough to get captured and hiding yourself away so that the same fate didn't befall you. That was what Sanguis would do, at least. Other hybrids seemed to care significantly more about the well-being of their fellows than he did. He was not so stupid.
… Although he'd probably make an exception for Keyren. Maybe.
"We'll know more once we meet up with Duruhos," Melody decided, to the group's general agreement. The Qurupeco-girl then yawned and finished sleepily, "Let's get some rest for now though."
At that moment, a low rumble came from somewhere outside the shelter, seemingly coming from everywhere at once. Sanguis instinctively raised his head at the recognizable sound, not remembering he was hiding under Sera's chair until he smacked painfully against it. It was sharp at first, then died down to a dull ache that squeezed his head from the inside.
Through the pain, Sanguis could still hear Dissidia's deep grunt. "Rain come," she grumbled, regarding the earlier roll of thunder. "Fall from sky. Make things wet."
"That's weird," muttered Mike, after letting out an excessively loud yawn. "I didn't think it rained here."
"It's rare, but not unheard of," explained Melody.
There was no response, and a peaceful quiet descended upon them as they gradually fell asleep. Feeling safe in the dark, Sanguis soon followed suit.
-.-.-.-.-.
The Lavasioth-boy, Nehlar, wondered if he was lost. He probably was, as without his caretaker, he was unable to find his own way back to their home.
He was very tall, more so than most hybrids, although not quite as big as Ray. He clad himself in very simple clothing – slate-grey pants and a matching jacket under which he wore a dark gold shirt. His shoes were basic Kelbi-skin footwear, nothing too out of the ordinary. Instead of hands, he had a pair of modified fins with five lobes each, arranged in a way that resembled a set of fingers with a thumb. His hair was short and as grey as his clothes, while his eyes were blank, white, and useless.
Nehlar, having been born a Lavasioth, was not one of the more fortunate hybrids. He was blind, without a sense of smell, almost mute, and lacked a sense of touch in his fins. While these deficiencies would make it seem to others that he was nearly helpless, Nehlar was actually fine – like all piscine wyverns, he possessed a lateral line and sense of electroreception that allowed him to detect other living things in a limited range around him.
And right now, Nehlar paused as he felt the familiar prickling buzz of his electroreception picking up a signal from nearby. Perhaps whoever was in the area could help him find his way back to his caretaker.
He followed the prickling sensation toward its source, dodging out of the way of buildings and the like every time he came close to running into something. He moved in a strange, alternating manner of careful walking and sudden sidesteps, closing in on his goal deceptively quickly until he was close enough to hear the voices of whom he was approaching – only then did he slow down, keeping to the shadows because he knew it wasn't a good idea to barge in and startle what may be a potentially dangerous hybrid.
"A peaceful solution?" someone asked with obvious disgust.
"That's what Duruhos was going for, yeah," someone else answered, a voice that the eavesdropping Nehlar vaguely recognized but couldn't put his fin on where he had heard it before. "It seems to be working, too. The Guild-Master of Port Tanzia was pretty much in agreement."
"That is not the plan!" the first voice hissed. A fist slammed down onto something wooden – probably a table. "If this continues, we'll never get the Eye!"
While Nehlar didn't know it, he had just walked into a particularly heated discussion between two extremely unpleasant beings – Luxi and Gulo, Spirits of Lust and Gluttony. Ace was also there, slumped over in his seat on a wooden bench with his head resting on the table in front of him, having already dozed off. The only female of the trio was sitting next to the Spirit of Sloth, one hand soothingly rubbing his bare back while her lovely yet ferocious eyes promised Gulo endless pain if he said anything else. Obviously, she wasn't taking this news of possible peace well at all.
The Mohran-boy had returned to Loc Lac in order to meet with the other two and inform them of what had gone down in Port Tanzia. It would have been good news if not for the fact that the Sins didn't want peaceful relations between the humans and transformed monsters.
"Well, what was I supposed to do?" Gulo frowned, glaring back at her. "I couldn't exactly say 'Hey look, I'm one of the most powerful and evil beings in the world and I'm trying to destroy your entire race, so can you please be more cooperative?'" He stamped his foot impatiently, causing the earth to shake slightly underfoot.
"Ugh, you are so unhelpful," scoffed Luxi. "You do realize that our entire plan depends on this?"
She pounded her fist on the table yet again, such was her frustration. Similar to how the earth reacted to Gulo's show of anger, an ominous rumble of thunder rolled across the sky when she expressed hers.
Ace suddenly stirred, his single eye blinking open drowsily. "I'm up, I'm up," he muttered, sitting up straight and brushing his tangled hair out of his face. "What'd I miss? Is the plan going smoothly? Did the humans declare war on the hybrids?"
The venom that Luxi's words previously carried was replaced with sugary sweetness. "Enjoy your nap, handsome?" she cooed, nuzzling him affectionately. Then her tone soured again, and she shot a filthy glare Gulo's way as she continued, "Unfortunately, the plan is going downhill, and this idiot didn't do a thing to save it."
"Oh, that's too bad," Ace said placidly.
"You try pushing for a Rust Duramboros and an old Wyverian on friendly terms to go to war with that scary Glavenus-woman breathing down your neck!" Gulo protested.
"I think I will," the Amatsu-girl replied coolly. "Besides, the pleasure of a nice flight through the storm will help me forget that I currently want nothing more than to slice you open."
She stood up and smoothed down her skirt, then bent down to hug Ace from behind and pepper his cheek and neck with goodbye kisses. Once she received her own kiss in response, she strode elegantly away and raised her arms in preparation for flight, fin-like wings fluttering open to catch the breeze.
"Remember, we're all meeting with Superbius soon," Gulo reminded her. "So you should make your trip a quick one."
A slight turn of the head and a glare strong enough to kill an Arzuros was what he got from the Spirit of Lust in response. "I'd worry more about yourself if I were you," she told him. "I can't wait to see how the others take your wonderful news."
"Avari's bound to have some," Ace offered. "I'm sure he'll hurry back when he learns something good about the Corridor."
"He'll hurry back anyway," Gulo shrugged. "As long as it means seeing Invi again."
The comment prompted Luxi to start laughing, bringing her arms back down to her sides and turning back around to face them in the process. Her evil, spine-tingling cackle made them both shiver, Gulo with discomfort and Ace with delight.
"That poor fool!" she shrieked with mirth. "He doesn't know what he's messing with! Invi would freeze him from the inside out without a second thought, and he still decides to risk his life with every comment he tries on her. All because he's in loooooove!"
She drew the word out in the most mocking, derogatory tone she could muster before dissolving into a fresh round of sadistic giggles. She genuinely enjoyed the possibility of Avari having his heart eventually broken, if not simply torn out of his chest, by the incredibly deadly girl he had chosen to pursue.
Gulo managed a nervous chuckle at the sight of his comrade entertaining herself so.
Ace just frowned to himself.
"Okay, I'm done," Luxi assured. Leftover giggles still emanated from her mouth, making it difficult for her to get the words out. "Acey, we'll catch up later. That sound good, handsome?"
"I'll be waiting," the Ceadeus-boy smiled softly, cheered greatly by his loved one's flirtatious words.
"Not for long you won't," she hinted, treating him to a sly wink and a brief meeting of her lips with his own.
When they separated, Luxi wasted no time in spreading her arms and taking to the air with the simplest application of her magic. A strong, violent breeze whipped through the area, whisking her beautiful form up past the tops of the buildings that surrounded them. In a flash of lightning from the dark clouds above, she was gone for good.
Seeing his companion staring wistfully after her, Gulo asked him in bewilderment, "How can you stand that woman?"
"It's not that hard," Ace replied. Stretching his arms out with a tired yawn, he then added, "Anyway, Loc Lac is going to be abandoned by this time tomorrow. How about we… we give them an idea of what they're up against?"
The Mohran-boy thought about that, then decided that it wasn't that bad of a suggestion. As long as they didn't go too over the top, no-one they were trying to stay hidden from – the White Fatalis came to mind – wouldn't suspect their presence.
Tomorrow, the hybrids would finally know the true nature of the beings that wanted them all gone.
When she got to Port Tanzia, Luxi was no longer in a bad mood.
Rather, it didn't take long for a bloodthirsty smirk to stretch across her face. She immediately turned tail and flew to where it was determined they would meet with Superbius, so ecstatic at her discovery that her evil laughter drowned out the thunder, lightning, and rain all around her.
As thanks for the immense favor he had done her and the rest, she was going to kill the Tundra King personally.
-.-.-.-.-.
You all missed Sanguis and the hybrid gang, right? Well, we get to see some shenanigans from them as they pass the time, before things start getting serious again.
Nehlar's numerous deficiencies are based on information I found about the Lavasioth – they're nearly blind, unable to smell, and don't have very strong vocal chords. By the way, I fought my first Lavasioth recently, and it was pretty interesting.
I've also decided to treat you to more of the Sins. I find Ace and Luxi's relationship interesting because while she's clearly not afraid to get intimate with him, he still worries that she doesn't truly appreciate him as a person or potential lover. In other words, he's in love with her, but her mocking words about Avari in this chapter makes him believe she doesn't feel the same way about him.
… Poor guy.
Anyway, please send reviews! The next chapter should be coming soon!