Fantasy Kaizoic: Earth Reborn (Season 2)

[Chai_T3a]

Dracon would smile, before continuing along the road with Dakheva and Theron. The prospect of visiting the Amante's and mom still fresh on his mind. That alone, was enough to kill the boys apprehension for the trip.

 

[Da Doofus]

The three traversed through the town of Dakovis where the daily activities were well underway. Construction was being made to the town hall, and Irokai colonists were at work in their own businesses. Smells of bread and cooked meat came from the local market, and Dracon would come to see a glimpse of the hope his grandfather mentioned came from this colony.
They were among the first Rithian Irokai to settle and live in Hennasia for the past few centuries. There was a future being built here.

The inner ponderings of the boy were cut short by a sharp sound near the blacksmith. A muscled Irokai woman was sharpening one of her blades on a whetstone.
The sound was like a knife itself cutting into Dracon’s mind. It was strangely familiar as he became aware that he was reliving a memory through a dream.
Everything blurred around him as the familiar scraping turned to the exact sound he was remembering.

A blade being unsheathed from a metal sheath, and ran over the armored sleeve of its wielder over and over. It was though the owner himself were overzealous of using the blade. His sister and father faded from his side, and the scene around him turned to another familiar, but unwelcome place.

A cave with a flickering campfire to warm the boy. He was alone, and he hurt all over. He remembered the burns on his back and the cuts from splintered wood. Their phantom pains resurfaced in this dream state.

The scraping sound of the blade . . . THAT blade, came from behind him and the fear ridden Dracon turned to see the silhouette of a human man. The light of the fire reflected off of a metal mask and a serrated arm blade that he wielded. The man who ruined Dracon took a step forward, and he heard a voice that would save him from witnessing what came next again.
*************************

“Dracon?” Cräga stood near the waking Irokai, knowing better than to rouse him physically.

The Feral groaned and exhaled deeply at what he had previously felt: the fear and helplessness.
“Good morning, Cräga.” He yawned.

“Darrek and Crina are back. I’m almost done with breakfast . . .” She kept a straight face but her tone was commanding. “And you’re eating with us this time.”

Meanwhile, the young Irokai and human woman had just entered after their earlier chores in the village.

 

[Chai_T3a]

Darrek leaned backward, stretching out his aching spine after a morning of grueling manual labour. He was a strong irokai, and in the prime of his life, but that didn't make him immune to fatigue or tiredness. And hell could those village folk work someone to death. He almost envied Crina then, the smaller human usually being tasked with the more precise and delicate tasks. She seemed almost unphased by the morning of work.

"What's for breakfast Craga! I'm starving!" The irokai asked enthusiastically, followed by a sudden pause as he noticed that his older sister seemed to be absent from behind the bar. A rarity in the morning, as she was usually preparing breakfast at this time. He looked over at Crina, as if she would have any more information about her whereabouts.

"Odd..."

 

[Da Doofus]

Crina opened her mouth to speak, but footsteps of Cräga’s bare feet came from the upper story.
The sound was impossible to mistake as both she and her sister only wore shoes when going outside of Drafisl.
Cräga stood above them looking down with her usual passive demeanor.

“Breakfast is cooling. Don’t be impatient.” She said. “Also . . .” She put on a cocky smile. “Good morning. How were the chor?
I could get used to these free mornings.”
Up until recently, it had been Cräga assisting the villagers in tending the crops and scent guards in the early hours of the day.

 

[Chai_T3a]

Darrek rolled his eyes, but a clear distinct smile began to form on his muzzle at the little jest.

"Well my backs seen MUCH better days." The irokai quipped sarcastically, sitting down at the bar. "Crina, maybe we could try switching our chores? Could be fun!"

 

[Da Doofus]

“Yeah . . .” Crina looked up and down at the Archo nearly three times her size.
“Don’t think I can lift logs like you.”

 

[Chai_T3a]

Darrek shrugged that off, giving her a cheeky smile as if he didn't already know that he was the only one capable of that work between the two of them.

"Aw. C'mon you can do whatever you put your mind too!" He said teasingly, patting the barstool next to him in an attempt to get Crina to join him by the bar. He then looked over at Craga once again, leaning into the barstand as he faced her. "What were you doing upstairs anyway? I'm curious."

 

[Da Doofus]

Crina rolled her eyes and joined Darrek at the bar.

Cräga smiled at them. “Waking your brother so he can have an actual morning for once.” She answered with her head turned to look behind her.

Dracon emerged from the room with his head low and his tail dragging.
“You woke me too early.” He grumbled.

“You weren’t sleeping well anyway.” Cräga retorted and pointed to the stairs. “Go sit down and I’ll get you something to help you wake up.”

 

[Chai_T3a]

Darrek had opened his mouth to comment on that, but decided against it. Rather, he donned a smile and nodded at the explanation. Watching as his older brother lazily walk down the stairs and towards the tavern. That little bit of tenseness in the air being restored then and there. It'd been a whole year since their faithful meeting, and Darrek had gotten used to his brother's presence. He was a good guy, and had well intentions, but there was just a little piece of Darrek who still couldn't let the walls fall.

"Mornin'" He simply replied, his tail tensing up just the slightest bit. That dumbed appendage could be the hardest thing to keep in check. "Nice of you to join us at a normal time for once."

 

[Da Doofus]

“Hmph.” Dracon replied upon stepping off the stairs.

Cräga gave a small glare at the charcoal skinned Kendalt, then walked to the back of the inn.
Dracon took his normal spot by the window, and as though on cue the triplet Ympliks came out of their perch from the roof supports and greeted their master.
Dracon smiled and scratched each of them on their scalps.

 

[Chai_T3a]

Darrek back slumped at Cräga's disapproval. Even if the human was nowhere near his size, it was clear that she was the one in charge. Darrek had thought that he was being friendly, or at least semi-friendly. But it seemed his intentions weren't as well communicated as he thought.

Still, it wasn't easy to warm up to someone like Dracon. He was proud enough that there had already been considerable progress. Now if only Cräga would have thought the same.

He huffed, before swiveling around to face his brother, hoping to make proper conversation no matter how awkward or tense it would be.

"Ya know. If you didn't sleep in till noon everyday then I would've mistaken you as a morning person." He said, pulling out the smalltalk card. He then used a clawed hand to point at the 3 Ympliks. "They're definitely happy that you're up early."

 

[Da Doofus]

“I have to keep watch at night.” He said blankly as Ezekiel cooed at his turn for scratches.

“I’ve told you to stop doing that!” Cräga called out from the kitchen. “Clan Khazid provide more than enough protection for the village. You don’t need to always worry about us.”

Dracon was silent. It was true that with the Kendians around, wandering the jungles and guarding the rivers, the Vindav tribe of Drafisl had definitely been more active as of late. The nomads had remained longer than normal to teach the young males the ways of hunting and clan tradition. Bom, the permanent resident Kendian and former leader of the Clan, had taken it upon himself to assist in the teachings alongside Beren; the current leader and Bom’s son.

A recurring issue in the early months was the territory dispute between Dracon and Beren. It was no secret the two bore mild hostility between them and was only made worse when land and hunting game had to be shared.
An agreement was reached with the help of Bom.

The Inn, Drafisl, and the forests around the mountain would be exclusive territory for Dracon. The surrounding forests would be for Clan Khazid’s use.
So far, the peace had lasted. Even though the Vindav had never fully adjusted to having an infamous Feral living in their midst.

Crina coughed to break the silence. “So how’s Talom doing? I haven’t seen him since that hunting ceremony last week.”

 

[Chai_T3a]

Darreks interest piqued at the mention of Talom. The half Kendian he had grown up with holding quite a bit of importance to Darreks life. In the past year, the two of them were able to catch up and regain their once inseparable kinship. But Talom had also grown since they were kids. Nowadays, the saurian was usually so busy that Darrek could only sneak in a few small conversations with him.

“Busy. As usual. The tribes got him doing something....really don’t know what that is though.” Darrek responded. “Thought it was just me who hadn’t seen him in a while.”

 

[Da Doofus]

“Nope.” Crina shook her head. “Haven’t seen him in two weeks.
Bom either.”

“Probably preparing for the Spring ceremony.” Dracon commented. “Clan Khazid usually has theirs here.”

 

[Chai_T3a]

Darrek huffed in acknowledged. Twiddling around with a piece of silverware as he waited for his food. Talom was busy, and with the tension between both Dracon and Beren, chances where the half Kendian wouldn’t be catching much of a break anytime soon.

“What’s this spring ceremony? A Kendian thing?”

 

[Da Doofus]

“Yes.” Dracon looked at Darrek. “It’s a rite of passage for the young males of the clan. A transition into adulthood.”

Cräga emerged a platter of steaming bowls and mugs of water.

“Grandfather studied Clan Khazid as a favor to the Rithian Historical Institute.” Darrek’s brother concluded as a bowl of venison stew was placed in front of him.

 

[Chai_T3a]

Darrek cocked an eyebrow at that, surprised that this little piece of tradition had never been mentioned to him. He figured having Bom around for such a long time would've given him extensive knowledge on how Clan Khazid functioned, but either Bom didn't bring it up that often, or Darrek had just been too immature to pay attention during his youth.

"Either way, hope he's not been overworking himself too much." Darrek commented, thanking Cräga as he brought him his bowl of stew. A smile on his face as he began to dig in.

 

[Da Doofus]

As Darrek slurped down his food as though it were a drink in a cup, Dracon was using a wooden spoon with surprisingly refined manners.
A year ago, this was unusual to see from a Feral but given both his upbringing and after seeing it so many times it had become normal.

Cräga sat down with him to drink a morning tea gifted by Bom, and Crina giggled at the difference in eating between the brothers.

 

[Chai_T3a]

Darrek seemed to be unaware of the situation at hand, his usual eating habits again being his demise. That is, till Crina's giggling seemed to signal the younger Irokai. He looked over at his brother, then back at Crina. His eyes rolled half annoyingly, and half playfully as the irokai finally decided to pick up a spoon to eat. That was one thing he definitely didn't miss about home. Those annoying table manners.

Either way, the meal was hearty and flavourful. The usual when it came from Cräga. He guessed he was willing to sacrifice a few things to be able to have cooking like this. So whatever. He continued to eat, clumsy table etiquette in play. Enjoying light conversations here and there in the meantime as the family had their first morning meal together in quite a while.

 

[Da Doofus]

Cräga contributed to the conversation when she could, and continued to keep the silent Dracon company as he ate.
The morning proceeded peacefully but with the second Kendalt there it brought a bit of refreshment to the routine.
Usually the Feral would have already left the inn before sunrise and patrolling the surrounding forests.

Cräga had gone to great effort convincing Dracon to actually stay at the inn to begin with instead of retreating to the ruins of Dakovis; and even moreso to keep him in the inn when Darrek entered.
To her, this was a huge step to ‘rehabilitating’ the estranged brother.

 

[Chai_T3a]

To his own surprise. Darrek seemed to relieved that his brother had finally chosen to have breakfast with the rest of them. He had expected this moment to have been awkward and uncomfortable, and to a sense it was. But no matter what, having the older irokai with him felt right. As if he had finally regained a piece of that family he had long been searching for. And even if that piece was crumpled and breaking apart. It had still been something that Darrek could hang on to. Something to keep him grounded.

Darrek would finish his meal, slower than he usually did as he attempted to bask in the moment.

"What would we do without you Craga" He said endearingly as he licked his muzzle. Clearly enjoying the meal.

 

[Da Doofus]

She smiled, but didn’t look at him. Instead, she leaned back in the chair and folded her arms behind her head.

“You would have started eating bugs and berries like the Vindav, and your brother would be dead.” She stated bluntly.

Dracon too smiled, and chuckled faintly. A sound that could have easily been mistaken as a clearing of the throat.

 

[Chai_T3a]

Darrek smiled, standing up to drop the dishes off in the sink behind the counter. Craga's bluntness was unsettling at times, and yet it could also be hilariously lighthearted. In this situation, her intent seemed to fall strictly in the latter.

"Blegh, bunch of weirdo's those Vindav are." He joked, feigning disgust. "I could never live off of that."

 

[Da Doofus]

“Never say never.” Cräga replied bluntly. “You’ll never know for sure what life will throw your way.”

Dracon looked up from his food, concern in his eyes.

The surrogate sister of the Kendalt glanced, and noticed his expression. With a soft smile, she placed a hand over his.

“I’m ok.” She said.

 

[Chai_T3a]

Darrek looked between the two for a moment, before choosing to instead stare out of the window. Not entirely sure if he'd struck a nerve. After a year of co-existing with his brother, it was quite obvious to tell that Cräga and Dracon shared many hardships that either he or Crina had faced. The fact of the matter was that he was lucky to have forgotten those rough times, but it did make him painfully aware of how oblivious he could be. It'd take a bit to learn what was situationally appropriate or not.

"This spring ceremony." Darrek asked. Trying to veer the conversation elsewhere. "Wonder if it'll be a big deal with everyone else too...ya know, besides the kendian."