“There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus”
[Galatians 3:28]
[Pov Ix]
As I headed inside I felt a bit down, like I knew why I had to go inside (This Chicago visit had to go perfectly!) But I would be lying to myself if I didn’t say, I felt a bit down. Entering the instructors quarters I sat down and began to relax, an activity that had become pretty rare with all the training going on. As I sat with my eyes closed I could feel myself slowly start to fall asleep, and when I started to lay down, a voice came out of completely nowhere with me completely caught by surprise.
“Seems like someone decided to take an early nap.”
I sit back up and see WingScratch by the door looking at me, her face having a slight smirk. I speak as I take off my glasses and rub my now tired eyes.
“Damn I didn’t even hear you!”
WingScratch heads inside and sits at her bed, speaking as she sits down.
“There ain’t much to do here, most of the place is blocked off. So I guess I’ll just stay here, and hey it’s better than being out their, that’s for sure!”
WingScratch gives a chuckle, and I give an awkward one.
Since the incident 2 weeks prior, I felt myself feeling more and more awkward around WingScratch. I couldn’t explain why though!? Like before we were able to talk freely to each other, the only tiny awkward thing being that we were both from races that supposedly hated each other. But after that incident I felt myself unconsciously trying to avoid WingScratch. Like every time we got close I felt myself tensing up and unable to think, and now we were together in one room for who knows how many hours. WingScratch speaks, sounding a bit concerned.
“Ugh… Ix you ok?”
I look at her, speaking in a slightly startled and confused tone.
“What?”
WingScratch speaks.
“You’ve been staring in to space for the last 10 seconds.”
I started feeling embarrassed with my face turning a slight shade of red, WingScratch let’s out a smile and silent chuckle as she speaks.
“Don’t get that uneasy Ix, I used to do the same thing when I was a chick. Ugh I can even still hear that old hag, Headmistress LightFeather chewing me out.”
WingScratch continues speaking, her changing her voice into a low toned gravely sound.
“WingScratch stop staring out the window like that! You don’t want to scare the other children don’t you!?”
Both me and WingScratch laugh, with me taking a few seconds to understand the implications of what WingScratch just said. Headmistress? Other children? Before I was able to speak, WingScratch continues with a humorful tone.
“Also Ix that name “LightFeather” Is complete bullshit! I bet she could have given Vissarman a run for his money, for how big she was…”
WingScratch gives out a quick laugh and I speak, trying to keep a lighter tone for the subject I was about to bring up.
“You grew up an orphan WingScratch?”
WingScratch hearing this looks down and scratch’s the back of her head, speaking after a sigh.
“Yeah I did… But it doesn’t matter though as I didn’t stay their long, you see the Order likes to start recruitment young and I saw an opportunity. Why’d you ask?”
I speak.
“It’s just when I heard you say that, I could understand the feeling. I never had much of a family growing up.”
WingScratch speaks, her previously down tone now replaced with intrigue.
“Changelings have families? I just thought you all just started working completely independently from the day you were hatched…”
I speak, ready to share my knowledge.
“You’re a bit right, we do get our work assignments when were pretty young. But we aren’t just alone all the time, we get assigned “Families” before we are even hatched.”
WingScratch speaks.
“I’m guessing you’re family wasn’t the best.”
I speak.
“It started out ok, I was assigned to a farm at the outskirts of Hive City. Spent my early day’s working with crops and livestock, ugh I still smell it sometimes… And my folks they also ok at the beginning, around a dozen of us and it was pretty close knit.”
WingScratch who looked completely invested, walks over and sits next to me. Speaking as she sits.
“What changed?”
I speak, feeling low as my mind brings back old memories.
“I changed, and they didn’t like that one bit. They were used to me doing 12 hour work days in the blistering heat, expected me to just be another mindless drone in this massive Hive. Than as I got older I knew that farming simply wasn’t my passion and slowly stopped doing it, in favor of learning. They were furious at this, saying at first that I was breaking their heart’s and that I was dishonoring the family. Than as they realized I wasn’t going to budge, they threatened to report me to the authorities and have me sent off to do hard labor.”
WingScratch speaks me as I pause.
“What was the point of no return?”
I speak.
“A really, really bad fight… I remember it, I had just returned from studying some old ruins and I mistakenly stayed out a little to late. When I got back to the family burrow, the patriarch (The Changeling that runs the family, them usually being the oldest) of the family was absolutely fuming, telling me that we were leaving for disciplinary action and that I was a disgrace to my family and Changeling kind. Let’s just say we got into a really bad physical fight and I ran away, leaving Hive city for a more civilized society.”
WingScratch speaks.
“That sounds horrible Ix, How long ago was this?”
I sigh and respond.
“I left around 6-7 years ago, than drifted from place to place for a bit before finally finding a place to settle down in Stablelot.”
Me and WingScratch look at each other for a moment, our eyes connecting. She speaks.
“You know IX when I was a member of the Order of Talon, I couldn’t help but feel the same was you feel, just being another drone in a society I increasingly started resenting. And just deciding to head off and do you’re own thing, it can be a lonely experience.”
I speak, my and WingScratch’s arms getting ever closer.
“Yeah sometimes it feels so lonely, so isolating…”
My head began to tilt towards WingScratch and I closed my eyes, I couldn’t stop myself… With her right next to me I felt something that was dormant deep inside me awaken, it felt like when I was with her I was… I didn’t know. But just before we locked lips, we heard distant voices, puffy voices.
“Look at this place Melvin, it’s goddam ancient!”
Me and WingScratch quickly backed away, us both looking at each other extremely awkwardly, and than another voice spoke, and we looked towards it.
“Can’t believe they’re sending us to that Nickel city place!”
The other voice speaks again and it sounded louder, like they were coming towards us. I felt tension rising, what if, what if they came in here!?
“Then you shouldn’t have Scout! Y’know Melvin sometimes you come across as dumber than rocks…”
I could now hear their footsteps, with us both being as quiet as a mouse. Than just before they entered the room adjacent to ours, another puffy voice yelled out.
“What the hell are you two doing!”
The knight “Melvin” speaks.
“Lieutenant ryes? Sorry sir!”
Ryes speaks.
“This is private property you’re trespassing on, get back to mess hall!”
We could hear the footsteps getting more and more quiet, and as I take a sigh of relief Ryes speaks one more time.
“I knew right to look for you two idiots, we just got here and you’re already giving us a bad reputation! Fucking hell!”
Finally with that potential disaster averted, I look down at WingScratch and speak. With me feeling extremely embarrassed of what I was about to do…
“WingScratch I’m so sorry, I don’t know what went over m-”
WingScratch lifts my head up and before I had a chance to react, she tilts her head forward and we lock lips. As I close my eyes we wrap our arms around each other and finally I understood what I was feeling, Love.
[Pov Dar]
We spent only a few days in Hive City, us staying in the barracks on the surface. Emily wanted us to leave straight away, very much exited to tell Enoch the good news that our mission was a success, but the Changelings kept us. They wanted to be 100% on everything when it came to the meeting, causing us to repeat ourselves quite a bunch. The plan was quite simple. When the winter thaw comes representatives from each fighting nation will head out with the dragons to Appalachia, and officially form an alliance than draft a war plan, than once that is settled, the fighting begins. The Changelings seemed to understand this, but were stumped on how they were going to get Queen Vela there without anyone noticing. It was Kri who was the one to offer an solution, and I have to admit it was a pretty simple one. They would just simply leave early, arriving a few day’s before us. Than finally after that they allowed us to leave, only one question remaining.
“How am we eben goin’ to get back!? Wiff that fowtwess…”
A reasonable question, with Mukar gone now we’d have to either go through the fort or find a way around it. Than as Aubrey was about to give an idea, one of the Changelings who had just helped us pack the wagon spoke, him going and rummaging through a bag.
“I was told to give you this, here!”
The changeling pulls out a map and gives it to Emily, speaking as he does.
“Pretty clever am I right!”
As Emily looks at it, she nods to herself. And after a few seconds Aubrey speaks, looking confused.
“What am it!?”
Emily speaks, giving a slight smile.
“Seems to be some sowt of smuggwews map, wook at dah unguawded paths.”
Emily turns the map and we look at it. I don’t know if I needed my eyes checked but all I saw was a bunch of scribbles, placed over a strange looking landmass. Emily speaks as she turns the map back over.
“of couwse we’d be entewin’ dah wiwd wands, buh shouwdn’t be much.”
Kri speaks, confused.
“Wildlands?”
Emily speaks.
“Oh it’s just aww dah uncwaimed wand Kwi. Theiws’s nothin’ weawwy dewe, expect fo’ dah wiwd animaws ow occasionaw undocumented twibe. We just hab to fowwow dah woute!”
Emily climbs into the drivers seat and looks towards the Cahgelings who helped us, speaking one last time to them.
“Fank 'ou again!”
They wave goodbye to us and we were off, heading northeast. There wasn’t much to speak of during the next few day’s, we left the Hive city area after a few hours and now it was all just flat grassland. Actually the only real thing I did was occasionally drive the wagon when it was my turn, trying my best to decode that horrible map… As the wagon kept moving along, I heard Aubrey speak from the back.
“Hey Kwi, what do ‘ou think dah wowwd am goin’ to be wike in 100 yeaws?”
Kri speaks, her voice pretty tired as it was almost night.
“I don’t know Aubrey, probably more the Sssame I guess.”
Aubrey speaks.
“Aubwey has heawd peopwe wawin’ that if dah popuwation continues to gwow at it’s cuwwent wate, we’d soon aww bein’ wibin’ in obewcwowded swums.”
Both Aubrey and Kri laugh and Aubrey speaks again.
“what a joke, wook at aww dis fwee wand fo’ dah taking! Emiwy what do 'ou, oh awweady asweep…”
Aubrey than speaks to me.
“Daw how wong untiw wewe stopping?”
I speak, feeling myself get tired.
“About nao seems fine, dah waccoon needs some west.”
After saying that I stop the wagon and climb out, feeling my body slightly ache from how long I was sitting. After a quick stretch I look northeast, towards the sunset and I think to myself. Why am I feeling this much dread? Than it hits me, even more to the east an army of literal monsters were just as well preparing themselves as we were. And than a feeling it me, were running out of time… Fin
Thank you for reading my story! School has been kicking me in the groin recently, so sorry if this one came out a little later than usual. After a short break I will begin work on chapter 7 and two very special milestones will come up, firstly the original last hope’s first anniversary and this story becoming my longest, can’t wait for both! Of course constructive criticism is always appreciated, and may you have a good day!
[Epilogue-LuuBar-Elohim’s Tower-Nuel The Betrayer]
As I climbed the steep exposed steps up the tower, on this sweltering dusk a smile ran across my face. Master will be pleased, I know it! As I arrive at his chamber, he speaks to me, his echo’s reaching inside my skull.
“If you bring bad news about the slaves, I don’t want to hear it. I already had to punish one of my older creations for their insolence… (Couldn’t even carry out a basic assassination)”
I speak, trying to be as professional as possible.
“Wowd, dey sowdiews fwom !uebec hab awwibed.”
He speaks in the same tone.
“Good, and the 50,000 Nuuk’s?”
I speak.
“bein’ twained as we speak, my Wowd. Siw Nuew thinks wewe weady fo’ waw, we can stiww weach them befowe dah snow comes and-”
I get an answer for my question, before I even had the chance to get into the details.
“No we will not!”
I speak in a submissive tone, almost falling over my words.
“Buh why my Wowd, we stiww hab a chance to stwike whiwe theiw weak…”
I get my answer.
"That’s what they want us to do, expose ourselves… We’ll wait here and let them to make the first move, they’ll never guess what’s waiting for them.
After a few seconds of complete silence, I get spoken to again.
“Leave here and go check on project Eve, I wish for an update. May man’s rule begin again, dismissed.”