Hehlio knew the room wasn’t real, no matter how the heavy air might have clung to him, sounds of small bugs chirping rung in his ears, or rocks tumbling underneath his paws had argued with that fact. The room and everything in it was an illusion, conjured up before he had entered. There was a pleasant aroma of the damp grass that had been refreshed from a day's rain. It all felt so real. The dim red light of the moon signified early night. All so real. But then, it had to be this way. Any less could be the difference between life and death in a real situation. The more he believed it was real, the better.
There was one real thing in the room, his teammate. “Sure you’ll be able to handle this Lio?” Jaithuut asked. Hehlio nodded in affirmation, though his inner thoughts did not.
Their mission today was to find a group of missing children, eight in total, who had last been seen playing closer and closer to a known gorgon nest. Hehlio had brought several containers of prepared potions to treat the paralysis a gorgon bite could cause; and, a few that would cause confusion to whoever inhaled the fumes. Both potions were held in pods of mist, both Hehlio and Jaithuut kept some of each in their carrier. The potions were kept secure, as Hehlio made their containers ready to pop easily for the pink liquid to rapidly remove the venom and the blue-tinted smoke to confuse. They would have to be on their toes to use them, as gorgon venom took only a minute before completely paralyzing even the largest of creatures.
Along with the confusion and anti-venom, both he and Jaithuut carried the essentials that were fastened to their carriers: a holder containing a blanket and net –able to be stored as black smoke before forming into item when retrieved–; first aid kit; light; intermediary issued radio; translator –which held five major languages– writing flames; identifications; and telekinesis enhancers. Everything he had on him at all times of the day.
They sat outside the cave, recon identified as the gorgon’s nest. The children were likely held inside somewhere. It had to be children, of course it did. There wasn’t a better way to pull at heartstrings but to make failure mean their death. The gorgons may have only needed to promise them sweets to trick them into their nest. That was the lighter alternative to what could have been the gorgons terrifying the children. If the latter were the case, the children weren’t likely to be alive.
“Hey,” Jaithuut said, putting his hand on Hehlio’s shoulder, a gesture Hehlio had come to know as a humi way of portraying worry. They couldn’t afford to share feelings through auras, as that would compromise their means of stealth.
“I promise, I’ll be fine,” Hehlio said. His friend didn’t need to worry about him so much after all these years. “So what’s our plan of action?”
Jaithuut removed his hand. “I was thinking we take out the beast before they even realize we’re here.”
“And if there’s more than one?”
“As if we wouldn’t scout first?” Jaithuut half chuckled.
They kept their distance from the mouth of the cave, Hehlio having them shrouded in his personal spell to hide them from sight and sound. It was just such a useful spell, one he’d found at a younger age than most others when they discovered their personal spell. And he had learned, through some effort, to apply it to others as well. Jaithuut always asked to be included in the spell, Hehlio would not let him know of the extra strain it caused him. “I think we should try reasoning with it first.”
“It’s kidnapped multiple children, what makes you think it could be reasoned with?” The spell had Jaithuut in a haze, only visible if Hehlio concentrated on him hard enough. His personal spell, one of those that no one should know about, was to manifest his aura. No one would know what was happening, only that things suddenly changed or happened. “We could just sneak in there, hide the children, and get them to safety without the gorgons' knowing. Then we could go back in and subdue them.”
Not a bad plan, but there was one issue. “And what if they notice, what if one of them has a superior sense of auras.”
“We adapt.”
“Jaithuut,” Hehlio said. His lack of planning always frustrated.
“No, I have a better idea, remember last star?”
“I could, with a bit more context.”
“With the Alsow, how they wouldn’t stop talking about themselves.”
“Oh, I think I get it. We do a little of plan a and a little of plan b.”
“Exactly. I’ll stay out here until you're ready, just give me a pulse of anxiety if they notice you. Or, of course, just let loose some of your dark fire.”
Hehlio left his friend, seeing Jaithuut’s figure fizz into vision with enough distance between them, though he remained hidden in the shadows fairly well. He might have not been noticeable, if it weren’t for his pale skin peeking out from behind the shadowed leaves.
Hehlio entered, careful to keep his damp steps as quiet as possible. The chill of the air only was amplified by his spell. He would have to act quickly. The cave was fairly spacious, though Jaithuut would still have to duck his head to get inside. Hehlio’s serpentine body allowed him in comfortably. In the sheer darkness, however, Jaithuut would have an advantage. Sure, humi didn’t have the greatest night vision, but it was still superior to a drake’s. After only a few steps into the cave, Hehlio could not see his snout. He couldn’t afford to take out his light source, he had to rely on his sense of touch and auras to feel out where he was and to know where the gorgons were.
The further he went into the cave, the larger it became. It wasn’t too long before he entered a room with enough space that echoes of the children whispered from the walls. They were laughing. That was a good sign. If the gorgons forced them into their cave, well, it’s easier to carry someone who isn’t fighting, or moving at all. They were playing with their prey, how twisted these creatures were.
Speaking of, Hehlio felt the aura of someone not too much further into the cave. They were relaxed, bored and slightly hungry. He might not have been able to see who the aura belonged to, it was still undoubtedly the gorgon they were after. And, as Hehlio had worried, not the only one. They would not let the children run free, there must be another watching them.
Hehlio slunk further into the cave, keeping to the right wall to not get lost. Laughter slowly crescendoed the deeper he went. After he was out of earshot of the gorgon, he tapped his radio with his thumb. It vibrated in response. “There’s one a bit in from the entrance. The children are further in, I hear them but have yet to locate their position.”
Jaithuut’s voice came to Hehlio’s mind, “How far in is the first?”
Hehlio couldn’t keep the frustration from his tone, “I don’t know, maybe a minute?” A shout interrupted him, which was quickly replaced with crying. Hehlio broke contact and ran as quietly as he could over the floor. He wasn’t graceful at walking by any means, his wings weren’t good forelimbs for the task. Flying, great; swimming, he didn’t need them; walking –let alone running–, abysmal.
After a minute more into the darkness, Hehlio could make out a light. Moving in that direction, a group of auras were first a fog in the peripheries of his sixth sense, then each focused and defined as he came closer. There were eight beings in total.
The one with the upset aura had ceased their wailing upon his approach, leaving disconcerting silence behind. The children were easy enough to pick out, their emotions uninhibited and loud. The gorgon’s aura was loud too, though much more controlled. The cave split and Hehlio hid behind the turn. When they passed, he would let loose a breath and knock it out quickly.
“ʏtʝ ʝo̞ghaɛk . ɛtʝ d͡ʑaitʝ . c.ɹðiʟzdi /wʏtʝ øz .” The voice was silky, almost intoxicating, and did not speak Lald. From the words' inclusion of both clicks and whistles, it was likely to be Nihyo. Hehlio whispered the language, his translator responded with a resonation over his tongue and ears. Silky continued, “I’ll take you to sister. All you others playing safe until I come back.” Hehlio heard one of the children protest as two auras parted from the group. He pushed himself onto the wall and held his breath. The gorgon came out from the room, a small solumkerd, with its twin nostrils drooping, dragged its long shovel-like claws along the stone. Hehlio froze, his eyes transfixed at the horrid gorgon creature.
His mind went blank.
The gorgon and the child solumkerd were gone. He felt for their auras, only finding the six others that were still in the room. He ducked into the light, keeping his cold hiding spell. He couldn’t let the children know he was here, he couldn’t trust them to keep secrets. The room was fairly large, with a pool on one side and a crack in the cave that let in the red night light above. The children were all sitting in a circle, all being of varying species. None showed any outward signs of injury.
Hehlio slipped back out of the room and trailed back to the entrance. On the way he let Jaithuut know of the six children in the room, and of the seventh that had been taken away.
“I’m by the entrance now,” Jaithuut said, “I can only feel one aura, probably the one you mentioned before.”
Jaithuut shouldn’t have come to the cave, he had no means of concealing himself. Hehlio stifled his worries. “You’re sure there’s only one?”
“Yeah, only one.”
Hehlio doubled back. He wasn’t sure if he had passed another path along his way in the darkness. It wasn’t out of the question for there to be another branching path, but it was better that he follow the walls he knew. Jaithuut’s had a fairly strong sense of aura, certainly stronger than Hehlio’s. Jaithuut had always been strong. If the two had come his way, he’d have known.
He came back to the fork. Seven auras, the gorgon’s voice, the child absent. Hehlio didn’t dare look into the room, he couldn’t afford for whatever happened, to happen again. Maybe it was the gorgon’s natural ability, its personal spell. It would make sense, for it could easily corral the children to do its bidding. From the resumed sounds of happiness, and how the children seemed to ask the gorgon directly what happened to ‘Fiievm’, this ability had either constraints or was easily manipulated by the gorgon itself. Hehlio continued to the left of the room.
“That is troublesome. I’ve managed to prance in the mind of the first one a bit. Nothing we didn’t know already,” Jaithuut said in a whisper in Hehlio’s mind. Hehlio was in absolute darkness once again, keeping to the right. His hide was starting to chill, for having to hide from sight for such a long time. He couldn’t risk letting down, not while he had no idea what lurked within the darkness.
The dry air grew musty with the drifting smell of dung. There, a light in the distance ripped a crimson scar in the ceiling. It was all foul. Blankets of dull, shed scales littered the floor, mixing with straw, torn clothes, and other materials. All was still but for the sounds of labored breaths and of something moist. The moon’s despotic rays cut the room, illuminating a long, green, motionless tail. The light curtain did not show all; the shadowed mass behind shuffled, then became motionless once more.
Hehlio’s heart raced and the arch of his back ached. With all the effort he could muster, he looked beyond the veil. His eyes widened. Legs with long claws dragged limply across the filthy stone floor. His mind went blank.
Someone’s voice echoed, “Hello!” Hehlio recognized that voice, but who was it? “Hi, my name’s Jaithuut, pleased to meet you.” So cold, Hehlio was so cold. It was so hard to move. How long had he been sitting here? “No, I don’t think I have.” Right, the mission, what does Jaithuut think he’s doing?
Hehlio tried to move, to make sure the children were alright. He was slow, a film of ice broke apart as he turned around.
“Mrrph!”
Who said that? His eyes glazed over. There was someone in the room with him, their aura emanated with panic. It was so dark, he needed to see. Hehlio fumbled with his carrier, which one held the light?
A loud hissing noise raced up from behind Hehlio. He whipped his tail at them, his body refusing to move as fast as it should. He tried to face the assailant. A sharp pain in his leg; it went numb. Then the other stab. He collapsed to the ground with a great thump. His thigh stung.
Blue mist swirled and his body became drenched in pink liquid. Everything whirled into everything else. There was someone behind him, trying to hurt someone. He couldn’t figure out who or why. They must be stopped. Standing on limbs that wouldn’t fully obey, he threw himself backward. He snapped his teeth at the air, missing with a click. There wasn’t enough balance in him, he fell on top of a warm, writhing body.
Another piercing pain, this time in his neck. He tried to bite at what caused the pain, another hard snap at nothing. His eyes couldn’t follow where the room was, everything was blue and messy. He rolled off the warm body, splashing in a puddle that wasn’t there before. His foot thrummed as he kicked at the body, and his claws dragged in mud.
The mud screamed. His leg was now the one with the sharp pain. Yelling echoed somewhere far off. He flailed in the puddle, trying to use his legs to swipe at the pain giver. This pain, it needed to stop.
That’s right, he could make it stop. He flopped, craning his neck to face the giver of pain. The figure split apart and reformed in a haze of blue and shadow. Hehlio coaxed the familiar warmth to well up in his chest. Warm, then hot, then burning, the torrent within him swelled nearly beyond his control, his lungs bursting and corked. He tried to focus on the target. Then he could hold it no longer, and let the abnormal inferno spew from his mouth.
Not a drake’s normal red, but dark flames filled his senses. He overdid it, his lips laxed numb and his eyelids fell. With the last of his flame sac’s reservoir coughed out, his body finally refused to respond outright and he collapsed.
His mind gradually roused to clarity with acute senses once more. He felt something under his neck. It was soft, cold, and still. He commanded his body to work, for his eyes to open and for his limbs to lift. They moved in his mind, but nothing happened in the physical world. He could feel people around him; he could feel Jaithuut was close by. He wanted to yell to him, to see if he was hurt. He couldn’t.
That familiar aural fog came closer. No, don’t, he tried to warn. He’d done this before, expending too much of his flames that he also slept. He needed to get just one part, any part, of his body moving and the rest would soon follow. He commanded his tail to move, to drag itself across the floor. It didn’t. He focused on it, thinking only of moving his tail. Yes, it flicked once, slapping the pool he was in. It was enough, and soon the rest of his body also came into focus.
He pushed himself up, just in time to see the faces, absolute horror being painted across them all, of the children staring back at him. He tried to speak, to reassure them that they were safe. All he managed to do was to trip into a coughing fit.
One child screamed, the rest followed suit.
“Nooo, iiit’s okaaa…” Hehlio looked to Jaithuut, trying to get off of him to allow him up. Jaithuut must have been bitten by Hehlio’s flames as well. With visible effort, he managed to get to his knees, forcing out more words of calm to the children. He told them that they were safe, that there was nothing more to be afraid of.
Nothing to be afraid of… No, there was something to be afraid of. Hehlio turned on his belly, the action took longer than it had any right to. He scanned the dim room. Nothing. “Jaiiii,” He eked out, “thherrr waas a third.”
At this time, Jaithuut managed himself to his feet. He wavered, then turned around to see where Hehlio was looking, only debris of the nest. Hehlio pushed his body up out of the pool. Jaithuut turned back around to the children, who were now all silently whimpering. He walked over to him, his legs wobbling at first, then became more sure.
They guided the group of young out of the entrance, Fiievm absent. Jaithuut spoke through his translator, assuring the children that they were safe. He had wrapped both gorgons in nets. Both using their telekinesis enhancers, they picked the snakes up. Both creatures writhed and spat profanities at them, demanding to know what happened to the third. Jaithuut kept talking to the children, constantly reassuring them.
The group made it to the rendezvous point outside the cave.
Everything puffed away into smoke, leaving the two standing alone in an empty white room.
With his composure fully back, Jaithuut turned to face Hehlio, “Lio, what happened? That wasn’t like you at all.”
“I-I,” Hehlio said, unable to stop his paw from pulling back.
“What in Yon was that!” Kruuther burst through the door that was previously melded into the wall. Kruuther proceeded to chew out both Hehlio and Jaithuut. Hehlio knew it was all him. He was the one who allowed the third target to escape, he was the one who let himself get attacked, and he was the one that put Jaithuut to sleep, He was the one who let the child be…
