Hehlio smoked out his identification from its place in his holder and raised it. Oqalth nodded then looked to Hehlio’s arm-crossed friend.
“Really Oqalth?” said Jaithuut.
“Yes, really,” Oqalth responded. Hehlio, no matter how long he’d known him, couldn’t help but feel giddy at his voice. Every word he spoke had a high pitch whistle behind it, like he leaked. He’d learned from others, who had better hearing, that all tsohtsi had whistles behind their words, Oqalth’s was simply lower pitched than others.
Jaithuut tried to leave through the door, but was stopped with Oqalth extending one of his colorful wings.
With an irritable huff, Jaithuut acquiesced, “Fine, have it your way.” His identification came out in smoke from one bangle before congealing into solidity. Hehlio took a glance at the small clear marble Jaithuut held up. It was a one to one representation of his Aiul, of himself. Jaithuut hated it and hated showing it, something Hehlio supposed Oqalth couldn’t help but toy with. The fractal of ebony pyramids with eternally sloughing sides was rather funny too see. That he was laid so bare, that his very essence was mimicked in such a small, fragile sphere; It was such a stark contrast to how he towered over Hehlio and Oqalth both. Oqalth stood only slightly smaller than the average humi, and a tad Hehlio larger.
Oqalth lowered his gaze, Jaithuut staring back in challenge. Oqalth switched to Hehlio, who broke down immediately, rumbling deep in his throat with what was laughter for him. Oqalth warbled in satisfaction, and lowered his wing to let them pass. “Sorry Zu Jaithuut, wouldn’t want any low-life's getting through.”
Jaithuut glared, then smiled, “yeah, they keep those inside the compound. Mostly delegated to guard duty.”
On the other side of the doorway, Hehlio flushed his identification back into his necklace. The breeze wafted up over them from the lake below and up the five storied stone wall. It felt wonderful after spending so long indoors, all day in fact.
“So, it’s now the time?” Oqalth asked. Hehlio turned to find the large raptor still keenly eyeing Jaithuut.
“Not quite,” Jaithuut responded, “got a bunch of forms to fill out today.” Jaithuut pulled out his writing flame from his haln and pretended to write in the air. “And the test.”
Oqalth sighed, “I know all about those forms, and it only gets worse once you’re in.” His eyes lit up, “Hey, tell Roga I need to talk to her later. I haven’t had the time to set up an appointment yet, been standing here.”
Jaithuut was already walking away, waving his hand behind him in acknowledgment.
“I’ll let her know,” Hehlio said, then followed to catch up to Jaithuut. The humi took the larger of the two parallel flights of white stone stairs down the side of the compound.
Hehlio righted his neck when he caught up to Jaithuut and fell into pace with the giant’s eager strides. The morning was gorgeous, the sayk was peaking over the buildings on the other side of the lake and washing the wall in an array of oranges, golds, and reds. Jaithuut picked up their pace, a race against the light to arrive first at the bottom of the staircase, trying to enter nights fleeing shadow.
They weren’t going to catch up to the shadow, at least Jaithuut wasn’t. Hehlio jumped over the railing and down to the lake four stories below. He spread his arms and feathers out, catching the air under his wings, and glid down towards the base platform. He felt the streamers of his clothing ruffle against the scales on his sides and the feathers down his back, the metal hooks that fastened the cloth around his body clinking melodiously. Jaithuut nearly fell down the stairs himself, landing on one foot for only a second before pushing himself forward with a burst of speed. Hehlio dove for the platform, pulling his wings to his side to make his body a spear, sailing to hit its mark.
Hehlio came out victorious. His reward, having to wait for Jaithuut who slowed down to a casual stroll. Hehlio took the time to admire himself in the water. His turquoise scales with lime tips played wonderfully with the colors of the morning. He then looked beyond his reflection, trying to view the life that stirred just under the surface. He almost dove in, wanting to join the fish and other aquatic creatures in the water's cool embrace. The sky was what his body was bred for, but the water had his soul trhive.
Jaithuut stepped onto the platform, “Staring at yourself again Lio?”
Hehlio noted that Jaithuut favored one leg more than the other. “Kak Jaithuut, what did you do?”
“What?” Jaithuut righted himself and strode past with a puffed out chest, “the only thing hurt was my pride. I have no idea how I let you win.”
“Don’t lie, I can craft you a potion or some sort.”
“I never realized there was a potion to heal pride, maybe you should be the one to drink that concoction.”
“You’re sure you’re okay?”
“As a painted claw.”
“I guess.”
Jaithuut rammed his shoulder into Hehlio, sending him off balance. “Don’t you think that’s the reason I lost, you were practically made for diving.”
Hehlio rolled his shoulder. “Practically made?”
“Yeah, wasn’t it that drake used to hunt that way or something? You know, dive on a deer from above, just like a tsohtsi come to think of it..”
“Yes, but I’m not sure I’m understanding your point.”
“Point is, you cheated.” Jaithuut pointed at Hehlio in an overly-dramatic manner, “I challenge you, Hehlio Mora, to a race around the lake. Loser buys lunch”
“Now?”
“Not now, I mean after we’re done here.”
They had come up to the entrance to Roga’s Hut, as near everyone called . It was a right and proper building unto itself, its minuscule state set apart from the rest of the compound for reasons Hehlio could not fully understand. He assumed it was because Roga needed to be nearer to the lake, on account of her species. That was only a guess, not a very good one since the fish also lived in the compound.
Truth be told, it was rather tedious to have to leave the compound to come and talk to her; and then to also have to set up an appointment on top of that. That latter aspect was understandable as Roga saw near everyone in the compound on some sort of regular basis. Her role in the compound was to be an adviser, to help anyone who had questions with either answers or paths to the answers. But she did so much more, such as helping them with the forms needed to become government recognized intermediaries.
Jaithuut pulled the rope outside the large door; a bell sounded from inside. Roga’s gurgling voice beckoned. Jaithuut slid the all-size-welcome door open and they stepped inside, humidity and dampness swelling over a floor that had a skin of water.
Roga waited at the small desk, right next to a small garden of semi-aquatic plants. Roga’s hut doubled as a place of work and residence. This gave further credence to the idea her species limited her, as everyone else lived in bunks in the compound when they were on duty; the compound not requiring a film of water on the floor. The same idea was true of other aquatic species, that they had to sleep and work in aquatic parts of the compound; though Roga was able to survive on land for a while longer in the humid days of hotter seasons.
“I am happy you two are here. Shall we soon start?” Two shockingly thick scrolls of writing cloth thudded onto the desk, released by two of her tentacles. Hehlio looked to her core, as that was where her sensory organs supposedly were. He couldn’t see her eyes, or anything of her really, besides a translucent orange and oily membrane that was nearly transparent when looking at the thicker part of her tentacles and spherical center while being opaque when looking at the edges.
When he had first met her, Hehlio thought Roga, so different from the drake he was, was some kind of jellyfish. At that time, he’d never witnessed, let alone heard of, one of her species. Depyups were both few and number and lived far out and deep within the oceans. She lived a long way from home. Maybe that’s why she worked apart from everyone else, or just another possibility for it. It seemed, at least to Hehlio, Roga would get lonely being apart from both her blood family and the family she made here after moving so far away.
Jaithuut riffled through the roll of cloth, making the motions of reading. Hehlio loomed over his scroll, reading every sentence on every page. Everything written, as was to be expected, Hehlio was already aware of. Details of what his duties were in the most specific words possible, long strings of words that put into excruciating detail every little right and restriction his soon-to-be profession would possess, codes of conduct, assurances that he will not do anything immoral or damaging to the compound, and more pages of more stipulations. Everything Hehlio had known already or should have been common sense.
Of course, he knew that he would be protecting Geva from the wild. He knew that he was not assured safety while on duty, all that was clear to even children. The true purpose of the scroll was twofold; for him to acknowledge the existence of these facts, and to bind him to the words written. Every page or so there waited a blank space for Hehlio to sign his name in full.
He took out his writing flame and burned his signature into the cloth, careful to keep his handwriting legible. It would be more than troublesome if the enchantment that he bound was faulty just because he wrote a letter to look like another. It might have been easy for Jaithuut to write as he had hands, but Hehlio had to rely on his telekinesis enhancing murn to hold the flame. He could try to write with his mouth, but that would often lead to disastrous results.
After Hehlio had read the final line and signed the final signature, he looked up to Roga who, herself, read an, albeit smaller, scroll of writing cloth. Jaithuut still read beside him, either influenced by Hehlio’s dedication or was bored of waiting for him and filled empty time. Jaithuut soon looked up, prompting Roga to take both their scrolls.
“Which of you two here would like to go first?” Roga asked.
“Let Hehlio go,” Jaithuut said, much to Hehlio’s surprise.
Jaithuut was assured to pass this trial, he was better than Hehlio in most cases. Jaithuut was stronger and could fend off a wild creature with ease. He was also more resourceful, able to use his environment to protect those who needed protecting when his tools had failed. His devotion proved unquestionable.
A joke that he had always been working as an intermediary spread through the compound mere days after he had arrived. Yes, Jaithuut would pass without question, probably just nerves; if that were possible.
Hehlio looked to Jaithuut, then to Roga. He nodded.
“Very well, if you will please come with me Ka. Mora.” Roga slid off the seat Hehlio hadn’t noticed. He followed behind her small body that pushed and pulled with tentacles that sprouted all over, similar to the spines on an urchin but flexible.
Roga lead down the hall and into her Advising Room, as she called it; a sequestered private room with wards placed to keep the nosy and the spies out. In a raised dry section perched a cushion bed. Hehlio took his seat, his heart already racing. It could have been either trepidation or excitement of what was to come and what it meant for him. He had trained for so many years and this was the final hurdle to overcome before he would be accepted into the intermediary force.
Roga slithered up beside him, “Are you ready Ka. Mora?”
“Yes,” Hehlio replied, closing his eyes.
“I have entered your memories before,” Roga reminded, putting a tentacle on Hehlio’s wing, “but this will be both far more intrusive and unpleasant.”
“I am ready,” Hehlio replied.
“Very well.”
Hehlio opened his mind completely to Roga, allowing her to view all of himself. She swerved through his memories, both public and private, going further and further back. She would linger on one memory occasionally, a good deed he did in rescuing someone or a misstep that lead to someone’s, or his own, injury. She spent most of the time in his memories of when he had moved to Geva, when he had committed himself to his goal. But she went further back too. And yet further.
She looked for something specific. In his mind, she let him know that it had been the original reason for his joining the intermediary force. It was no small feat, wanting to become an intermediary. One had to be fully devout. If that devotion was based on faulty pretenses, it would easily topple when pushed hard enough, leading to countless casualties.
Roga let Hehlio know that she had come to an impassable fog. Hehlio strained his mind to open this memory for her, to open the memory of his reason for devotion. She informed him again of her inability to view this memory.
Suddenly back in the room, Roga removed her tentacle from Hehlio. “Ka. Mora...”
“I’m sorry Ku. Roga, I-I’m not sure what happened.” Hehlio went back to that memory. It had been sometime when he was a hatchling, he knew it was the reason he did what he did. But he could not, for the life of him, remember what had happened.
“Ka. Mora,” Roga continued. “That you had, wittingly or not, kept this memory suppressed within your psyche, well, there is little else I can assume for it.”
Hehlio found himself shouting, “Ku. Roga!” No, He couldn’t fail, not now, not when he’d gotten so far. “I-I’m sure I’ll remember.”
Roga did not speak. Hehlio stood up. Still she did not speak, but moved to give distance between her and Hehlio.
“Please, give me another chance.” In the back of his mind, he knew how much larger thus intimidating he appeared. He couldn’t think about courtesy now, he needed to pass.
Roga spoke somberly, “many have come to me with horrific scenes that prompted them down this path.”
“Yes,” Hehlio said, “that must be it. I’m sure I will remember. I could find a potion to bring the memory out, I’m sure of it!”
Roga paused, causing Hehlio’s heart to skip a beat. “Very well, Ka. Mora, I shall allow it. Though the origin of your devotion is obscured, I can feel it well within you that the reason itself is pure as you are.”
“Oh, thank you Ku. Roga!” Hehlio prostrated himself as low as possible, having his belly, neck, and chin dip into the pool.
Roga emitted an aura of happiness, “Please, we are fortunate to have one like you join our ranks. You are strong Hehlio both in body and in soul.”
Hehlio continued to thank Roga as she lead him back to the foyer. She motioned for Jaithuut to follow, and they disappeared back down the hall. Hehlio laid down in wait, breathing through his nostrils, keeping his jaw and mouth submerged. He took the time to calm himself, clear his mind of the worry that all had been for not.
If it were anyone but Roga, he thought, I’d probably have been kicked out then and there. Though he had not, in his mind, given this excursion much importance, he then realized that that was the last fail-point of him becoming an intermediary. All that remained would be the commencement ceremony where they would speak the oaths. .
Roga, after all, was beloved by the compound. Many in the compound thought of her as the grandmother of Geva’s intermediaries. Whenever she’d spoke, kindness, wisdom, and insight would flow. Hehlio thought of how he felt irked by having to come all the way out here. How could he have ever felt that way about her.
Jaithuut took much less time than Hehlio, returning with a toothy grin stretched across his face. Jaithuut offered his head, Hehlio happily obliged to butting foreheads.
“Alright,” Roga said, emitting an aura of pride, “Ka. Mora, Ka. Thaan, only one step left. I will send you the necessary forms to fill and have everything ready.” Before Jaithuut could burst, Roga brought each of them in an embrace, wrapping her tentacles around their necks. “Congratulations, and welcome to the force.”
Just as Hehlio closed the door, they were greeted with a familiar order. Kruuther shouted, “At me!”
“Zu!” Jaithuut said saluting by raising his right elbow.
“Then, I’ve got to use you while I’ve still got you, yeah?”
“Zu?” Hehlio asked also saluting by raising his right wing.
“You aren’t one of us yet, and that means there’s still training to be done, now hop to.”
Hehlio and Jaithuut marched up the stairs, trailed by their mentor. Hehlio would proceed to make the potions they needed for this training session. Kruuther informed them that they would hold a mach rescue of a family locked in a cellar while an ogre rampaged through their house. Maybe a potion that would burst into smoke and send the ogre to sleep? Hehlio thought. No, he needed something to prove his worth, something more complicated, something flashy. He rescued everyone without any issue.
A few areas of "off" wording --- "to glide" or "gliding" instead of glid . Few such places. Maybe make it clearer what they are applying to become a little earlier. More description of the characters. At first I thought Hehlio was a bird.