Alyssum - Chapter Four

The new steaming water bottles felt so good on his skin, Aeo let their weight release all tension in his muscles. Leon even placed water bottles on the sides of his head to keep his ears warm—he hadn't realized just how dull and cold they'd been until warmth filled them. He didn't even move when Pick came to lick his face with his enormous wet tongue.
<A humil hugging a wolf's head.>
“Uh...” Aeo whispered, gagging. “Y-Yeah... good boy.”
“Pick,” said Leon, removing his jacket and replacing it with a light-brown buttoned dress shirt. “I need you to go and get Shera for me. Go feed the bighorners for her. Tell her I sent you, okay?”
Pick's head drooped down low and his nose nuzzled up against Aeo's side. He whined quietly.
“It's all right. Aeo's not going anywhere. You can watch over him in a little while. I just need to speak with him and Shera for a while. Please? And close the door when you go?”
Pick's shoulders drooped low, but he lifted himself off the ground and headed for the door. Standing on all four legs, the wolf pup stood a little taller than a full-grown lion, and Aeo wondered how much growing he had left to do. The unlatched large door swung wide open, and Aeo expected the cold air from outside to blast inside the cave and suck all the warmth away. To his surprise, it didn't at all, and not just because he was being smothered by thermal water bottles. Pick closed the door shut with the latch in his mouth.
“There we go,” Leon said. “I was hoping I could talk to you now that you're not frozen solid.”
Aeo frowned. Might as well be honest.
“You're... not going to make me go back to the village, are you, sir?”
Leon placed his hands on his knees and leaned backwards.
“Well, there's the question,” he said. “I didn't wonder where you came from, but I did wonder where you received all those bruises. If you're asking if I'll kick you out when your frostbite heals, the answer is no. Of course not. But I wonder if you might tell me who you belong to. Do you have family? Friends? Anyone who might be searching for you?”
“No,” Aeo replied. “No one cares about me.”
Leon cast his eyes downwards.
“Is that right,” he replied.
“I'm not going back to Olvaren,” Aeo said flatly. “Never.”
“Be that as it may,” Leon said quietly. “Someone in that village did you quite a lot of damage. I couldn’t help but notice your eyes; not many free Edians live in Olvaren. I imagine if you were to belong to someone, it might not be by blood relations. In fact, I may have seen a few Edian children working as stable boys or innkeepers during my travels. Any of this sounding familiar?”
Aeo said nothing, focusing on the stone ceiling.
“It isn't my business, of course,” Leon continued, stroking his rough beard. “But what prompted your travels up Falas could mean danger for… many people. Including Pick, Shera, and Hala and her family.”
Leon cleared his throat and paused.
“...have you ever heard of the mephandras?”
Aeo’s eyes opened wide.
“They're real?” he asked. “You've seen one?”
“Terrible armored ursas of unusual size?” Leon said with a chuckle. “No, I haven't, actually. I've only heard word here and there that they used to live on this mountain. Truth be told, they haven't been seen in decades, and there's good reason for it.”
“The hunters.” Aeo said. “Right?”
“That's right, sounds like you and I have the same sources. Hunters chased after them for hundreds of years and drove them right off the mountain. At least that's what folk say. But it wasn't just the hunters that did it.” Leon stretched his arm to the side. “Did you know a mephandras was actually a very intelligent beast? They didn't have the mouths to form words, but they knew the giant wolves that lived up in these caves and spoke with them regularly.”
“They could speak?” Aeo said.
“Well, in a manner of 'speaking',” Leon said. “As much as Pick can talk to us, in fragments and images. The giant wolves learned of these humil hunters coming further and further up the mountain in search of the mephandras. Both the mephandras and the wolves knew that if humils ever discovered their dens up here they would find a reason to exterminate... well, all of them. Just as they hunted for mephandras claws and teeth and pelts, they'd put bounties on the giant wolves. Traders would value their fur, hunters would keep trophies and glory, and adventurers would chase them right out of their homes, understand?”
Aeo nodded.
“The mephandras knew that their homes were becoming more and more limited, their safety less and less guaranteed. But the wolves hadn't been discovered yet. So, in exchange for finding a safe home, the mephandras promised to leave and let the wolves have control of Falas.”
“The mephandras... left the mountain?” Aeo asked. “How?”
“Cautiously. And not in large groups. Their size and their diets were too great to find their own way without being spotted by humils or ashanti. No, the wolves promised the mephandras they would help them search for a new home in exchange for keeping the mountain free of the hunters who searched for them. The wolves would lead the way while the remaining mephandras followed them off the mountain. If the wolves detected humil , they would... well... they would force the humils...”
<”We would put thoughts into their minds that would convince them to leave.”>
The large cavern door suddenly creaked open. If Pick had seemed like a gigantic creature, then what stepped through the opening made Aeo suddenly very afraid. The giant muzzle of a fully-grown wolf emerged, followed by a mountain of gray-ivory fur led by four powerful limbs. As high as the cave ceiling stood, the wolf nearly stood higher, and had to bend down a fraction to avoid skimming it with its pointed ears. And if it felt strange to receive images from Pick, then listening to the almost audible words of this wolf commanded all of Aeo's attention as they entered his mind.
“Good morning, Shera,” Leon said, showing no fear at the sudden appearance of the great beast. “I was just telling Aeo about the meph-”
<”The humils have always come very close to discovering our home, even when the mephandras kept them at bay. Without them and without most of my pack, it is a challenge to even stand watch.”>
At the same time the words dominated his thoughts, he swore he could 'see' the image of a trio of mephandras in the 'background', two gigantic bear-like creatures covered in tough scales and a tiny one rolling around in the snow. Merely images? Or memories? It made his head ache a bit from both words and images attempting to take center stage in his head simultaneously.
“That's right, Aeo,” Leon said. “The wolves led the mephandras towards a new home, but many followed them off the mountain and never returned. They must have found a new home themselves.”
Shera closed the door by gripping the rope latch with her teeth, then circled and laid her great body down neatly in between the campfire and the wall of the cave. Alone she easily took up half the floor space. She eyed Aeo up and down and made him wish he wasn't lying prone and vulnerable.
“This was... how many years ago, Shera? Fifty?”
<”More. I was young. This was our home then, and it is our home now. Pick and I will not leave it.”>
“Therein lies the problem, Aeo,” Leon said. “If humils ever find this place... Shera and Pick would be in great danger. That's why I have to ask if anyone would come looking for you.” He looked up at Shera. “Still, the blizzard would have hidden his tracks as well as his scent. I should think that no one would know where he disappeared to, and if they did know, they would imagine him dead from exposure.”
As much as a wolf can look displeased, Shera did, and growled a bit as a thought entered Aeo's mind.
<”Perhaps.”>
“I imagine Aeo is safe and secure. Considering no other humil has come up this high before without assistance, I would think it safe to assume that all is-”
Leon paused. His attention aimed squarely upon the great wolf.
Aeo heard nothing. Were his ears plugged? He couldn't help but shake his head. He lifted himself up as best he could without losing balance of the many rubber containers that covered him. Something felt odd. Something was wrong. Different, as if the air suddenly became dry. The feeling wasn't painful at first, like having a small weight sit on top his head. But soon his ears started ringing, and a small headache entered his head through his temples. Freeing his hands from the water bottles and his fur blanket, he tried to block the pain with his fingers, but there was no source of comfort.
“I know you don't like the idea of another humil...” Leon stopped. “...but no one will follow him. If we give it some time maybe I can-” Another stop. “I understand that, but there's his situation to consid-”
Shera became more agitated the more Leon spoke. At first, she kept the growling to herself, but soon the growling turned into a snarl. Aeo felt his heart in his throat, and remembered Leon’s words from earlier. Somehow, Shera and Leon were having a conversation without him. The longer this phantom conversation continued, the paler Leon's face became, as if the wolf had complete control over him.
“Uhh...” Aeo whispered.
The pain in Aeo's head grew worse. In fact, the headache in his temples began to spread to his forehead and behind his ears. It was a slow, steady process, like knives being pushed into his mind from multiple angles. He tried to push the headache out of his forehead with his hands, but this made things worse. In fact, the headache seemed to spread to his hands, making his muscles contract involuntarily. Blood rushed to his head, making the bruise around his eye unbearable.
Leon attempted to speak again.
“I... I know that,” he spoke, his voice distant. “But I truly think-”
“Please...” Aeo whispered.
Neither the wolf nor the man paid Aeo any attention. Nor did the pain stop. It grew backwards towards his neck, and his vision began to blur. His head felt heavy and thick, like something was leaking out his ears and nose. Aeo lifted his arm and reached out for Leon's shoulder. He could hardly find it through the haze of his vision and must have looked grasping and desperate.
“L-Leon, sir...”
For a moment, Leon seemed to ignore Aeo's pleading. Aeo’s tongue barely obeyed him, the bursting pain traveled down his neck and followed his spinal cord. Aeo lost his sense of sight, and both his arms clung to Leon's arm. The pain spiked, and it felt as though something in his head disconnected and burst open. When Leon finally looked away from Shera, he seemed distant and distracted as if Shera still spoke to him.
Leon’s focus finally rested on Aeo.
“What...? Aeo, are you…?”
Aeo stared at him, unable to speak.
“Shera!” Leon shouted.
Almost immediately, the tightness and pain on Aeo's head faded, and fuzzy vision swam back into view. Leon stared at Aeo like a painting, and then back at Shera with a distant stare. The snarl had disappeared from her face, though she remained on her front paws and leaning forward at attention. As if the wolf could feel his thoughts and feelings, she gazed at Aeo directly. The thought-voice came clear and gentler than before.
<”Some things are difficult to explain.”>
“Difficult to explain...?” Leon looked down at Aeo as if seeing him for the first time. “Shera, you... you weren't protecting him.”
Shera said nothing.
“You could have killed him!” Leon shouted. “We didn’t need to speak of this in front of the boy, we could have taken this elsewhere!” Leon placed his hand on Aeo's head. “Are you all right, Aeo? Can you see? Can you speak?”
Aeo's brow raised, then lowered in confusion. Something then clicked inside his head. No, not clicked... Poured. His nose bled down his face and across his bare chest, and drops of blood trickled from his ears onto the fur blanket in his lap.
“Goddess! Hold on to me, Aeo!”
Leon lifted Aeo's face to staunch the flow. It didn't help, as Aeo sputtered and coughed. Aeo still clung to Leon like a desperate spider. From somewhere out of sight, Leon found cloth and pressed it against the boy’s nose.
“Can you see, Aeo? Tell me you can see me.” Leon said, moisture beading on his own forehead. “Tell me, Aeo! Shera, this argument has already been had, you didn't need to lash out at me with the boy present! I merely wanted your help in explaining the situation to him. Have you gone mad?”
<”Forgive me... I lost myself.”>
“What... what happened?” Aeo asked quietly, his vision slowly focusing.
“Oh thank heavens,” Leon whispered, and fell quiet for a moment. Aeo looked up at him. While Leon’s nose hadn't bled like his, Leon looked positively terrible himself, breathing heavily and sweating as if he'd hiked all the way down the mountain and back up again. Leon wiped the sweat from his mouth. Shera flicked her tail.
<”Goddess help me,”> Shera said finally, her thought barely an addition to the confusion in Aeo's mind. She lifted herself off the ground and turned towards the door. <”Nothing is wrong with you, young one. You are welcome here as long as it takes for you to heal.”>
“Shera, you can’t just leave, what does that accomplish?” Leon said. But the wolf was already halfway out the door. She stepped away with a surprising grace, much more than Aeo would suspect a creature her size. Just as deftly, she closed the door behind her with a thud. As if in response to her prompt exit, the hazy purple mist on the far side of the room suddenly faded away with an audible pop as the lit candles on the wall blew out. To Aeo’s shock, the air in the cave dramatically lowered in temperature as the wooden door swung slightly ajar.
Leon sighed, his breath becoming quite visible in the sudden cold.
“Are you sure you're all right, Aeo? You can see, can't you?”
Aeo placed a hand on his own forehead. He must have looked like Leon himself: white as a ghost. Leon nearly hid his own condition as he wiped the blood from Aeo’s face, but Aeo could feel Leon's hands trembling behind the cloth.
“I'm... I'm f-fine, sir,” Aeo said, lifting his hand to the cloth. Again, his nose turned upwards; the flow of blood had slowed to a crawl in his throat. Dropping the cloth into his lap, his grip on Leon’s arm lessened, and he laid back down in his bed. “I... I made Shera mad.”
“No, you didn't,” Leon said. He looked down at Aeo, clearing his rattled throat. “She was only angry at me.”
Leon lifted himself, rolling up his sleeves, regardless of the intense chill now blowing through the cavern.
“I’m sorry, Aeo. The blame is mine. I'll ensure Shera won't be that irresponsible again... As best I can. I had hoped she would explain to you more about the situation on the mountain, but... it brought up memories that are best left to the past.”
Leon looked down at Aeo.
“Just rest for now... I'll make sure Pick comes in to watch over you. In the very least, his mental capabilities have yet to achieve his mother’s power.”
Leon crossed the room towards the now extinguished candles and stood over them. Aeo's eyes still blurred over as if he'd just woken up, but he could have sworn he saw Leon raise a hand towards the candles as if warming himself against the bare wax. He had no matches or burning stick from the campfire. Instead, Leon bit his teeth down and steadied himself against the wall with one hand as if preparing to shove the stone wall inwards.
It happened slowly at first, then faster and faster: a strange disk-like glyph made of white light emerged from the palm of Leon's outstretched hand and silently floated towards the wall. The glyph itself looked like a strange foreign icon one might see in some ancient book, shimmering in the dim light. It grew in size like an inflating balloon, stopping only when the strange symbol concealed the candles from Aeo's view. It hovered in midair for a moment as Leon focused intensely on the light in his hand. Then with a pair of small pops, like the sound of distant clapping, the glyph vanished, leaving behind four lit candles and a familiar purple mist streaming from them like a river of smoke.
“Magick,” Aeo whispered. Did he see that correctly?
Leon pulled himself from the wall, shaking the hand that lit the candles; a strange white effluvium floated away from Leon’s fingertips like fine dust.
“There,” he whispered. “The glyph should hold the chill at bay.”
“You're leaving, s-sir?” Aeo whispered in a timid voice just loud enough to hear. But wait, another more important question: “You can do magick?”
“That,” Leon said with a small smile as he stepped towards the campfire, “is something I will talk with you about when I return.”
Aeo relaxed in his bed as Leon walked over with a glass bottle in one hand and a clean cloth in the other. He knelt down, and carefully doused a portion on the cloth in a delightfully-scented liquid.
“Here you are,” Leon said, clearing his throat again. “You can clean yourself up.”
Aeo looked down at his chest; his nose and ears had doused it in caking blood.
“Wait, a… glyph? What’s a glyph?” Aeo whispered.
“Oh, that?” Leon replied. “It's a ward, specifically. Fairly straightfoward. It keeps the cold air from coming through the door, makes it warm and dry in here. It just takes a few candles and a bit of animis.”
“Animis?”
Leon chuckled.
“I'll tell you everything tonight. You need to rest now. Especially after... Shera. I’m going to attempt to talk some sense into her.”
Leon's voice sounded hoarse for a moment at the end. He went quiet. For a moment, he placed his fingers on his temples.
“Are... are you all right, sir?” Aeo asked.
Leon cleared his throat and didn't turn around.
“Oh, of course. Don’t worry about me.”
Aeo squirmed beneath his fur blanket.