Fantasy Kaizoic: Earth Reborn

[Da Doofus]

“Oh . . .” Dracon looked down and a smile slowly grew. “They are a rare species. Ympliks. Cräga, father, and her father were out fishing one day and found their nest. The parents’ scent wasn’t even present so father brought them back for grandfather to see.” His smile widened at the memories. “He was always fascinated with the rare and unexplored.

He originally was going to nurse them just long enough to send back to Rithia for study and preservation, but I had . . . Become attached. I helped nurse them with he and mother, and I was young.
I had a bit of a tantrum about sending them away.

So he let me keep them.” He ran a claw over Frederick’s head gently.
“They’ve been with me since. Even when I left . . . They followed and found me.

I am grateful for that, to be honest.”

 

[Chai_T3a]

"You? Throwing a tantrum?" Darrek asked in disbelief as he pictured the very idea of it. Just imagining Dracon as a child was challenging for Darrek, but to now think of him as a crying, babbling six years old? This was pure comedy gold. "Heh, I can't believe ya left me before I could see that happen."

"They definitely like you, that's for sure." He commented, gently reaching out to gently poke Leonard's ears.

 

[Da Doofus]

“Don’t do that.” Dracon blocked Darrek’s hand. “Sensitive on the ears. Scratch the back of their heads instead.”

 

[Chai_T3a]

Darrek nodded, heeding his brother's words. He moved his hands slightly lower down so that his fingers grazed the back of Leonard's head instead, the soft fur warming brushing across his fingers and warming his heart.

"Yeah, I get why you had a tantrum over them now," Darrek added, genuinely smiling. "I probably would've as well."

To a passerby, this moment could've been chalked up as something small and simple. But when Darrek realized that he was making an actual conversation with Dracon, a conversation that wasn't just an attempt to learn more about his family, he realized that this came to him more naturally than he had originally expected. Maybe there was just something inherently compelling to know that he was talking to his brother, his REAL brother.

Don't get him wrong, he still wasn't fully comfortable with this. That would take a lot more time for him to achieve. But this relative ease that he shared with Dracon was enough comfort for now. Enough for him to know that maybe he could work this out.

 

[Da Doofus]

The two brothers enjoyed this briefest moment of bonding, even if it was minute.
Dracon looked at his pets, glad to see how receptive they were to Darrek’s touch. They welcomed him as he would hope they would in his distant dream where all happened differently in his life.

It made him smile.

Meanwhile, downstairs . . .
**********************

Rufus had been discussing with Bom what all happened in Dakovis and the situation Kairo was in.
He made his intentions clear to assist the Noah settlement despite his own reservations. His original plan to start fresh in this new world still took priority, but he felt he owed Kairo and Stryx for helping save his life.

He’d bring the extra firepower and hopefully arrive before Bazin to warn them, then after it all settled he’d disappear for good. The old Vindav, Tarlim, had expressed gratitude toward the two Archaic in regards to their help around Drafisl. The Pouncer Wasp incident especially. In return, Tarlim promised Rufus (through translation by Bom), to let the human have access to one of the tribe’s beasts of burden to carry Vincent’s wagon. A cloven mammal evolved from what was once a horse. Now it was a huge, muscled work animal called an Equinar.

Rufus later assured Bom that Darrek would remain here, and all he would need is directions from Dracon to the camp.
Once the discussion ended, the man began ascending the stairs.
****************

Boots stepped upon the wooden staircase outside Dracon’s room, and the Feral recognized the wearer immediately.

“The Archaic is coming.” He said grimly, lip curling in a toothy snarl.

 

[Chai_T3a]

Darrek's gaze averted to the door when Dracon mentioned that Rufus was heading up the stairs. Quietly listening, he'd confirm his presence by the sound of distinct human footsteps approaching the door. He'd almost missed the subtle noise though, as Dracon's incessant snarl was making it hard to hear anything. He was again reminded then and there that they still had a lot of issues that needed to be worked out.

"Hey, calm down. He's not here to start anything." Darrek reassured, staying close to his brother as he waited for Rufus to walk in.

 

[Da Doofus]

The human entered, and Dracon’s eyes narrowed.
Thunder rumbled outside to break the constant sound of rain falling upon wood.

“Evenin’ Smiley.” Rufus smirked.

Dracon snorted. “What do you want?”

“Ok, I’ll get to it.” Rufus entered completely and shut the door. Lazily, he leaned against it with his arms crossed.
“I want to know where the Noah settlement is. You found it when you took Kairo. You know where it is.”

The Feral was silent.

 

[Chai_T3a]

Darrek glared at Rufus, clearly not impressed by his choice of wording. He wasn't the nicest individual, but even he knew a sucking up a bit could go a long way. Dracon wouldn't help them if Rufus was being an ass about the whole situation.

"Dracon, listen to me. Rufus is being an asshat. But what he's trying to say is that Kairo might be in danger." He pleaded. "Bazin, the guy that was attacking us earlier, he's been tracking him. And I don't think he'll be lucky enough to survive another encounter with them. He's my friend...Dracon."

 

[Da Doofus]

“I don’t trust you.” Dracon said to Rufus. “What’s to stop you from telling your people where to find this village? Then they would come out here as well.
That’s too big a risk.”

Rufus kept a blank face. “Well the only reason I have to keep it a secret is they’re not MY people. As far as they’re concerned I can stay away.
I don’t have a place with them, and like you, I want them to stay in that ship and leave me alone.

Another thing to consider is what will you do if Bazin succeeds?”

Dracon cocked a brow. “How do you mean?”

“Say he pulls it off. Gets the drop on Stryx and his stooges, wins.
What’s he going to do then? Where is he going to go?
He mentioned that he’s collecting bounties on Archaic from Rithia and from what I learned there are Rithians south of here.

If I were him I’d pay a visit to the nearest town and make sure I had everything I needed to haul off my payload.”

The Feral looked at the floor, contemplating. He wouldn’t say it aloud, but the human was right. This was the only road through the jungle that led South safely.

 

[Chai_T3a]

Now that was more like it. Reasoning that was actually convincing. Darrek thought for a second for anything that he could've added on to further solidify the point. Nothing logical, that was already being provided by Rufus. No. Darrek had a different kind of leverage he could hold against Dracon.

"C'mon. After everything Bazin's done to us. To me. Don't you think it'd be better if we had the upper hand against'em?" Dracon said. "This might be our only chance to take him down."

 

[Da Doofus]

“I am still not sure, Darrek.” He looked at the younger brother. “And there is not a ‘we’.”

“Yeah . . . Gonna agree with him on this one, kid.” Rufus said. “Too dangerous for you on this one.”

 

[Chai_T3a]

Darrek looked between the both of them, clearly surprised by the sudden outcome. Too dangerous for him? No way. Hadn't they already established that he was going to be helping?

"I'm not going?" Darrek tilted his head in confusion. "I'm not weak, and I can take care of myself. Besides, we're talking about Kairo here. You can't just tell me to sit back without doing a single thing."

 

[Da Doofus]

“Darrek . . . You can’t.” Rufus commented. “Bazin has whupped you twice. You’re not a killer like him.

You’ve done enough, so you’re staying here.”

Dracon nudged his brother.
“Go downstairs. It’s alright.”

 

[Chai_T3a]

Darrek looked between the two desperately, hoping that there would be a change in either's resolve. Bazin was HIS problem! He wanted to be the one who'd get to deal with him. But Rufus was right, he wasn't nearly ready enough to take on the other man. Not when Bazin was likely to have a whole army of lackies behind him. Either relented in their decisions, so Darrek forfeited. With a sigh, he got up from the chair and began to head out of the room.

As he opened the door, there was a pause in his movement, before he turned back to face the other two. "I'll let you handle it this time, Rufus. Keep Kairo safe, and get Bazin for me." Darrek stated in defeat. "Dracon. Trust Rufus. He's not going to snitch."

With that the door closed and Darrek frustratingly made his way downstairs.

 

[Da Doofus]

Rufus stood against the door with Dracon staring at him.
After several minutes of silence, the two exchanged comments on what would potentially come of the unclear future. Rufus sympathized with Dracon’s distrust of the Archaic, and even told him of his own experiences of mistreatment at the hands of Republic officers as a boy.

When it came time again to ask about the settlement, Rufus sighed.

“Darrek’s right, you know. You don’t like me, I get that.
But this gang is a danger to both the people you care about and those that even I’ve come to give a shit about.” He pointed to his leg. “I got probably eight more hours before I can’t walk, and I want to be sure that these bastards are stopped.

I’m offering my help to protect YOUR home. Because you can’t as you are.”

Dracon snorted, and Rufus sighed.

“Ever heard of Kansas?”

“No.”

“It’s where I’m from.
There’s this town that used to be there. Coffeeville. It’s got a spot in history WAY before I was born or even my grandfather’s grandfather.
There were these outlaws, or you could call em bandits, the Dalton Boys.” Rufus shook his head.
“Bad bunch, and the law couldn’t nab em, but they ended up getting killed anyway. The townsfolk rose up, all on their own, and took them down.

I feel like there’s some similarities here.”

The Feral frowned.
He knew he was helpless in this state. The dreaded Taroz Garm couldn’t fight the invaders and protect his home, and here was this stranger offering to do it for him. Placing such trust was not an easy feat.
“I’m afraid that you will be like these ‘Dalton Boys’.”

The man knelt down to look Dracon in the eyes.
“No.
Today I’m the townsfolk.”
*************************

Rufus emerged from Dracon’s room, intact, and descended the stairs with a dedicated look upon his face.

 

[Chai_T3a]

Finding most of his family preoccupied with work in the tavern. Darrek chose to sit down on one of the tavern tables, impatiently tapping a clawed finger on the wooden surface. His gaze focussed on the stairway, waiting for Rufus's figure to manifest from the top of the stairs.

When he did, Darrek would immediately get up and meet with the man.

"Did he tell you where?" Darrek asked.

 

[Da Doofus]

“Not something you need to worry about, kid.” Rufus patted his shoulder, being higher on the stairs gave him a height advantage to look Darrek in the eyes.
“Be with your family. Bom said he’s going to get you all to safety tomorrow.”

 

[Chai_T3a]

Darrek could only sigh, nodding in understanding at Rufus's explanation. "Fine. Fine. But stay safe out there okay? Either promise me that or don't be surprised if I sneak out and follow you."

 

[Da Doofus]

“Safe ain’t easy to define around here.” He admitted. “But I try to look out for myself.”

The man stepped by Darrek, and slipped behind the bar to lay down.

 

[Chai_T3a]

It wasn’t the answer that Darrek was seeking, but it was enough to satisfy him. He only nodded at Rufus, watching as the other man headed towards the bar. The storm still raged on, only making Darrek grow more restless. But there was little he could do about that. So he spent the rest of the time impatiently staring at the window. Hoping for the rain to die down.

 

[Da Doofus]

Later on, Rufus and Bom had a private discussion once Crina and Darrek retired for the evening.
What was spoken was a mystery, but it would have appeared to be an agreement of sprts.
As the night rain continued to pour, activity died down in the Rest. The Vindav returned to their own homes in town, aware of the potential threat that could come their way.
Rufus would sneak out the back entrance of the tavern, his jacket buttoned and his pistol on his belt. Bom watched him leave, and remained awake in front of the fire.
Upstairs, unknown to both, the private room kept empty for Darrek’s use would be devoid of the young Irokai in his bed.
***********************

Thunder clapped outside the medical tent as the storm continued well into the night.
Most of the Noah colonists were now asleep.

 

[Chai_T3a]

Kairo's night had been rather uneventful. His absolutely crippled hand meant that he had been exempt from much of the duties that the other settler's faced, and as much as it appeared to be a blessing, there were things in his mind he wanted to ignore right now. Left with nothing but the pittering of the rain on the medical tent, that prospect was impossible for him to achieve.

He wondered what Rufus was doing right now.

He sighed to himself, getting up from the chair. He needed to find something to do while his damned hand healed. He wasn't going to get much sleep tonight anyway. With that in mind, he promptly began to inspect the medical tent in hopes of finding something he could do to pass the time.

 

[Da Doofus]

A medical terminal was nearby, but it required an access code to use.
Outside, beyond the veil of rainwater that poured down the entrance, the makeshift homes of the settlers were dimly lit with the faintest sign of electric lighting.
The rain itself had eased intensity, but still consistently fell.

 

[Chai_T3a]

As expected, his search wouldn't bring him fruition. The medical terminal could have been an interesting thing to browse through, but he likely wouldn't have access. Then again, it probably would have seemed rather rude if he just started to dig through that stuff. Besides that, there was nothing else within the tent that could keep him company.

He said that but who was to say he had to confine himself to the tent? At this point, he was bored enough to venture outside for a little bit, even if it was just for a walk. The rain itself, had died down quite a bit as well. Biting his lip, he opened the flap of the tent, deciding for himself that getting a little drenched would be better than being stuck with his thoughts at the moment.

 

[Da Doofus]

The rain drizzled, and the light posts around the walled area provided enough illumination to safely move through the settlement safely.
Syndroid guards patrolled the wall and a few Noah colonists assigned to maintenance were tending to the electrical wiring between outlets.