Man, I'm a good pun maker! Look at that chapter title!
*cough* Ugh, sorry about that! Anyway, it's another Friday! This time, it's all about our beloved, super-shy, Delcan (well, and Samara)! You get some nice pointers on where the story is heading, and the introduction to the first fight scene! Now, I can't spoil
too much, so I'll stop here
After this chapter, I'm pretty sure FrogSteaks will have a new otp *nudge nudge*
Enjoy, and remember to tell us your opinion on the chapter and anything new that is introduced!
Chapter 4 - Rude Awakening
(Wrote by Jacob Hostetter)
~Delcan Bradford~
“Delcan! Wake up, you lazy [censored]!”
My eyes shot open, and I gasped suddenly. I blinked for a few moments, my mouth opened a bit. I slowly lifted my torso form whatever surface it was resting upon. I had a pounding headache and my spine rippled in pain. As my hands touched the ground below me to support my body, I noticed a source of water trickling through my pawpads. I looked down curiously and saw my body was resting in a creek that was below a hill. I rolled my eyes and stood from my feet.
Climbing upward from the lowered ground, I was surprised to see Samara standing only a few feet away from me in her red silk dress. I took a step back in fear, my breath shuddering as my eyes widened. When my foot hit the ground, it was unfortunately met with mud instead of solid ground. My body twisted and stumbled onto the the earth, landing on my back, making my aching spine shoot another wave of pain. I winced and sat up a little.
Samara approached over the hill, standing creepily on the top of it. She shrugged and crossed her arms.
“Delcan, don’t fear me. I’m not in a physical form. With my soul awakened, I can now project myself from your mind into your field of vision. That’s right, Delcan. You get to see this lovely face all the time,” she scoffed, doing a seductive pose for me.
I shook my head in disgust, “I don’t want to see you, Samara. You’re a succubus; all you do is cause trouble and try to sleep with me!”
She rolled her red eyes, “Oh please. I wouldn’t want to sleep with you, Delcan. You’d only have me do all the work.”
I gave her a grossed-out look, “Can we not talk about this? I don’t even want to think about it… Ugh.”
Samara paced around in frustration, “You know, your body is weak and frail. I tried to do something fun, but the only thing I could do before your body gave out was scare a few schoolgirls. Oh, and your sister knows everything. She used her weird magic on you to see what I did to you. We had a fun talk.”
Ran my hand through my hair, “You didn’t hurt her, did you?”
“Not physically. Maybe I caused her a bit of stress. That girl needs to stop living your life for you and live her own.”
She smiled devilishly, “Besides, you have me now.”
I stood up from my spot, brushing off dirt and mud from my tan, cloth pants. I looked at Samara with a bit of annoyance.
“More like I’m stuck with you,” I spat back.
She chuckled lightly, her red eyes folding shut, “Oh, come on. If we are going to be stuck in the same body, let’s make the best out of our relations, eh? I must say, it takes a strong-willed soul to both block a demon from possessing and also stop them from manipulating the mind. I feel as if I have some newfound respect for you, Delcan.”
“I’m honored,” I scoffed.
She shrugged, “Come on. Let’s go find your sister so she will stop pissing herself from worry.”
“Not a bad idea,” I said, agreeing.
I made my way up the grass covered hill, grunting a bit as I trotted up the awkward angle. Samara’s reflection seemed to have no difficulty burdening the task, leaving me a bit jealous at how easy it was for her. I sighed a little in tiredness as I reached the top of the hill.
Oddly, on the road across from where I was, Illusha was walking with that guy named Aneurin and a crude gathering of a sort of militia. There was maybe a dozen soldiers marching with Aneurin, most consisting of humans. However, it made sense as Farnfoss was more humans populating it than keidran, and the only basitins in this town are Illusha and her mother.
Out of curiosity, I approached Illusha to see why she was joining this odd bunch. She noticed me before I made it the whole way over and gave me a friendly wave. I waved back politely and jogged the rest of the way to her side. When I made it, I slowed down to the group’s pace and walked with them, the others oblivious to my presence.
“Morning, Delcan,” she smiled warmly, flicking her basitin-keidran mixed tail.
I nodded shyly, “H-hello. What are you doing with these men?”
“These men aren’t just anyone!” she replied pridefully, “We are the Ridgewalkers!”
A few people cheered at the words of triumph, raising there hands in the air, most of them bearing torches.
I looked around nervously, “What are the Ridgewalkers…?”
“We are a band of warriors equipped to take down the now appearing dragons. I thought they were just fables, but Aneurin was the evidence that he had slain one! Plus, people claimed to of seen one flying overhead in Farnfoss. ‘Course, there isn’t a chance that is true, because we would of seen it and taken it.”
“Oh, really?” I said, faking my interest, “I wouldn’t know anything about that…”
“Looks like that dragon’s got more to worry about than just her own kind. Now we’ve got these bozos to deal with,” Samara added.
I sneered quietly to myself, and Illusha looked at me inquisitively. I shook my head to dismiss her suspicions, mumbling an excuse.
I cleared my throat and continued, “So, you are just looking for dragons with this amount of people?”
She shook her head, “Nope, we are campaigning right now. We’re going to go from town to town rallying up any people we can recruit. It’s going to definitely be an adventure to write home about.”
“What about the Farnfoss Watch? Aren’t you one of their best officers?” I asked concerningly.
“They can manage their own,” she replied with a relaxed tone, “Besides, most of the scum are either in jail or on our little strike team.”
I chuckled lightly, assuming it was a joke of sorts. I shifted my sight from Illusha’s albino body and watched the rhythm that my feet were going at. I checked around me to see how far we’ve gotten. Looking about, I figured we were nearing the edge of town. I noticed the library resting on a corner a few steps away, and I wondered if Saige was there.
“Saige probably isn’t there, Delcan,” Samara blurted suddenly.
She had made jump in fear, and I let out a sharp squeaking sound. Tripping over myself, I lost balance and landed into Illusha’s arms. She was all so surprised and looked down at me dumbfoundedly. Her cheeks rapidly lit up in embarrassment, and she fumbled me back on my feet. I rubbed my arm awkwardly and looked at her. Illusha’s gaze was glued to the ground now, never daring to look up.
“Thanks…” I shrugged awkwardly. No response.
“Look’s like I’m not the only one that wants to sleep with you,” Samara snickered.
I shook off her speech and focused back on Illusha. I gently shook her arm to get her attention, and she looked up sheepishly. I smiled, I was usually the shy one, not Illusha. She’s a fiery and headstrong officer of the Watch most of the time, not some lovestruck teenage girl.
“Be safe,” I requested quietly. She grinned happily and nodded.
Stopping my strides, I gave Illusha a quick hug. She eagerly returned it, whispering the same words I’d said earlier to me. After the small hug, she ran to catch up with the group. I stared off her way until she came out of view. Sighing slightly, I turned around to head home.
I was instead met with Samara in front of me, her arms folded firmly into her chest.
“You never said anything about your lady over there. Why’s that?” she demanded.
I sighed with frustration, “She isn’t my lady, Samara. Even if she was, Illusha’s working with our new enemy now. It would’ve been doomed to fail at the start.”
“Whatever you say. We’ve got something to report to your dragon overlord, so let’s do that, yeah?”
“Okay, Samara. Do me a favor though.”
She raised an eyebrow to show her attentiveness.
“Just please…” I sighed, “Please. Just try to quiet, huh?”
She smiled devilishly, “I suppose I can try.”
<><><><><>
The sun was shining bright, and it was pleasant for a spring day. Looking away from the sky as I walked home, I noticed Samara’s reflection walking beside me. She caught my gaze, and I quickly turned away sheepishly, a small blush forming on my face. Samara shook her head with a grin and pressed on.
Our house was only a few steps away, and I heard some audible voices, one sounding deep and the other sounding… mystic. I pressed my pointed ear against the door to hear what the voices were saying. I gently put my hand unto the old oak door to better balance me as I eavesdropped.
“What do you mean? You gave them powers?! You’re giving teenagers that kind of responsibility? And look what it did to Delcan!” A muffled voice shouted, my ear twitching slightly. The voice was Richard’s!
I shoved my hand into my face in embarrassment. Whoever he was talking to, it wasn’t going to be pretty. I twisted the doorknob, a quiet creak sounding through the air. Richard was perched against the doorframe of Saige’s room, his right arm planted on the doorway above his head, the other in his gray hair.
Richard twirled around to see who was invading his argument. Saige appeared from the left corner of the small room, a look of surprise painted on her face. Her expression quickly changed to relief and she ran up to me. Swinging her arms around me forcefully for a hug, she rested her head on my shoulder. I closed my eyes, returning the hug gently.
“I thought you were dead, Delcan…” she said, choking up. I patted the back of her head, my fingers running through her blonde hair.
“I’m fine, Saige! I promise!” I said, laughing quietly at her worries.
She released the hug and stumbled away. She sighed in relief, closing her eyes. Saige turned the corner and went back to the left side of the room. I smiled a little as she left. I noticed Richard went back into the room without saying a word. I raised an eyebrow and investigated.
“Look, Tioleth! You almost killed Delcan!” Richard shouted to seamlessly nothing. I looked around curiously, looking for the white scaled giant. I shot an uneasy glance at Saige. She responded by pointing at the only window that was located in her small room.
“Apparently, Tioleth can shapeshift as well,” Saige said with an unamused tone, her point revealing a rather large gray hawk resting on the windowsill. I blinked once or twice at it as it’s eyes darted around the room.
“You… can shapeshift?” I questioned in awe.
The bird’s eyes started to glow as a mysterious sound filled the room. “Yes, Delcan. It’s a gift all dragons possess to better shield ourselves from the ancient hunters. We take on an secondary from to shift to so we can hide, but no dragon has more than two forms.”
I stared into the creature’s beak, assuming it would move as it spoke, but it oddly didn’t.
“Wait… how are you talking?”
The bird cocked its head triumphantly, “With the use of magic! I convert my thoughts to audible sound and emit it to the air around us. Hence why it has a bit of an odd sound to it.”
Saige stepped forward a bit, bringing forth another question.
“Hunters? Why would you need to hide from them?”
“Back when the humans arrived on this once humble continent, they saw us as a great threat. Magic was much more… fearful in those times, most humans would of been considered magical geniuses today. Of course, even though humans were magically advanced, they didn’t exactly know how to harness its true potential, so it tended to backfire on them.”
”It was much too late for our people when we unlocked this power, however. The newly founded human colonists took us down with ease. We were depending on their lack of knowledge to be their downfall, and the fact that we were much more powerful than them, but it had no effect. We were outnumbered. After the humans attacked us, we only had 5 remaining. Our kind was forced to run and hide, stowed away for… eternities, seemed.”
Richard scratched his head, “Couldn’t of you just had children?”
“We did. The only catch is, our pregnancies take… oh, a decade?”
“By the gods!” Richard gasped, throwing his arms up.
Tioleth chuckled a bit, “Yes, yes. Though, the gods were not in our favor it seemed. You see, our kind was weakened gravely after the humans’ attacked. Dragonesses had a lot of miscarriages then. All females tried to carry a child, including myself, but only one succeeded. We cherish this child deeply, but he hasn’t reported in for a while…”
Samara’s reflection suddenly fazed into the room, placing herself in on Saige’s bed that was pushed in the left corner of the room. She had her arms crossed and was staring dead at me, disappointed. She blew a strand of hair out of the way of her face in anger.
“Don’t forget to tell Tioleth about the half-assed “Ridgewalkers’, you forgetting dunce.”
“Okay, Mom…” I grunted with angst.
“Huh?” Saige questioned, giving me a weird look.
I blushed, my eyes opening wide at the realization that I said that out loud. I looked away from everyone’s staring eyes and rubbed my neck slowly, chuckling awkwardly. I noticed Samara giggling uncontrollably like a school girl. After her laughing fit, she mouthed the words “good job” to me.
Richard smiled a bit at my slight misfortune and gave me a quick pat on the shoulder. I nodded in thanks for the reassurance.
I shot a glance at the shifted Tioleth, a flash of seriousness appearing on my face.
“Tioleth!” I called out, attempting to get the bird’s attention. Tioleth’s head spun to attention quick, fluttering her wings a little.
“I’m listening, my kin.”
I took a sharp breath, prepping for the explanation that awaited me.
“Alright, I’ve got some bad news. Do you know of Aneurin Louvec?” I asked with haste.
The hawk nodded, “I’ve heard of him. A hunter of sorts, makes money by hunting big game, correct?
“Yes, only that he’s hunting bigger game, and he isn’t hunting alone. He is hunting dragons now.”
The hawk’s glowing eyes shone brighter than before, most likely to express the sudden shift of mellow emotions to more intense ones.
“Preposterous! The damned fool couldn’t lay one of his scrawny human fingers on my kind if he tried!” Tioleth shouted.
I shook my head at her ignorance, “He’s already taken down one of your one, Tioleth.”
Richard closed his eyes with grief. “That [censored] was gloating so much about killing the dragon. I was almost impressed by his tale. I didn’t… I didn’t know how little remained.”
“Who?” she demanded.
I looked down in shame, “I have… no idea. I’m sorry.”
Silence loomed in the air bitterly, no one daring to voice a word. I rubbed my forearms awkwardly, my eyes glued to the ground. Even if I did know who had died, I admittedly wouldn’t of revealed. I’d assume she would know the survivors personally, so I wouldn’t want to cause her more pain.
“I’m pretty sure it is worse not knowing who it is, you mangy fool. I’m sure a million possibilities are zipping around in her tiny bird mind… Or does she still have the capacity of her dragon mind?”
I shook my head at Samara’s joke.
Saige suddenly sniffed the air, catching the scent of something intriguing. She looked at me oddly and leaned into my shirt. I half-stepped away awkwardly, as Saige sniffed my blue sweater. She leaned back into her chair with a disapproving look on her face. I shrugged with slight aggravation, questioning her invasive action.
“Why were you hanging out with that [censored]?” Saige spat bitterly. I was surprised by her words, and I stared angrily at her.
“Why do you have such a problem with Illusha?” I shot back.
“Don’t avoid the question! Why were you talking to her?”
I paced around with frustration, trying to keep my cool. “Look Saige. No matter how hard you try, you can’t control me or my actions. I already have that influence,” I responded. referring to Samara. She waved at me invitingly, and I rolled my eyes.
“Anyway, why the hell do you care who I talk to, huh? Just because you don’t like her doesn’t mean I don’t!” I screamed.
Suddenly, my body started to quiver. My breath quickened, and I felt an odd surge of… something rush through me. Gasping desperately, I held my head to try and counteract the ungodly headache that ripped into my brain. It wasn’t just the headache that caused pain, it was everywhere. From my eyes to my feet, there was no where this unbearable pain would stop.
I started to feel dizzy, like I was losing consciousness. It was like I was drifting space, floating around endlessly, eyes closed, no thoughts. I heard a devilish chuckle echo throughout the void. My eyes opened, and I investigated the sound.
Samara was standing in front of me, a huge and evil grin on her face. Her black locks curled down from the top of her head to her shoulders, and they bounced with every step she took. Samara stopped her movements when she became face to face with me. Placing her right hand gently on my cheek, she chuckled menacingly. I tried to move my arm - or anything for that matter - but my muscles were paralyzed by the influence that Samara now had on me.
“Delcan, you shouldn’t have!” she smiled demonically, “If you wanted me to take over, just say the word! You don’t have to get all worked up for nothing, my dearest.”
I managed to move my mouth from the binds she had placed upon my weakened soul.
“[censored]… you…” I spat, my voice sounding incredibly muffled, as if something was stuffed into my mouth.
She chuckled lightly once more, giving my cheek one last stroke and a light pat to finish it off. I winced at her movements, closing my eyes in remorse.
“Don’t worry, Delcan. I’m only going to do what you wanted me to do.”
She straightened out and took two steps away from me before turning back around to face me.
“Let’s go teach your sister how to mind her own damn business.”
