“Your friend Zeke called to say he is coming over and said he would bring some clothes for the Droga,” commented Rosalee. “Maybe I’ll finally get to meet him!”
Naomi smiled, glad that Zeke finally found the gossip lines in the Sanctorum where he worked as a helper. “Thanks, Momma. The clothes will be helpful, and it will be nice to see Zeke,” answered Naomi.
Denzel walked downstairs, still in his clothes from yesterday, and Naomi handed him four plates. Denzel set the table as Rosalee and Naomi finished making the food and juice. Just as they finished putting the food on the table, Zeke showed up with a duffle bag slung over his right shoulder.
“Zeke! It’s good to see you, my friend,” Naomi said as she walked over to give him a hug.
“Hey Kitten! It feels like forever since I last saw you. I’ve got some clothes for your friend here,” Zeke said as he handed her the bag.
“Great,” Naomi snickered, “but it’s only been two days since the Feralizer.”
“Hey, Denzel here you can change into some of these,” she said, as she tossed the bag at Denzel, who looked at it surprised.
Naomi spoke sternly, “Now, Denzel before the food gets cold. Oh! Zeke, you’ll join us for breakfast yes?”
Zeke nodded as Denzel headed back to his room with the bag. Denzel pulled out some of the clothes in the bag. He saw they all looked like native American tribal clothes. The clothes were a gentle tan with splashes of color from stitch work in colors from red, green, and blue.
Denzel grabbed some that had green stitch work that looked like a tiger’s stripes but a bit more random and less frequent. Once he had changed out of his scratchy, green t-shirt and blue jeans into his new clothes he headed back downstairs to the table. Naomi, Zeke, and Rosalee looked up from their food as he sat down, impressed with his outfit.
“That looks better on you Denzel, and, oh, by the way, I’m going to help some with your training. I’ll teach you about the other types of Cryptics and the laws of the land. Naomi will teach you weapons and transformation,” informed Zeke, before starting to eat again.
Denzel simply nodded and dug into the food on his plate. They ate mostly in silence. Occasionally Naomi and Zeke would mess around and laugh over a joke, but that was about it.
Once done they all placed their plates in the sink--the plates from last night had already been cleaned and put away. Naomi grabbed Denzel and with that, they headed out the portal doorway with Zeke.
When they stepped out of the doorway they were in a massive space, standing in a field, and as they looked in every direction, they could see a forest, a desert area, and a false mountain range.
A few yards from where they stepped out, there was a rack standing in front of them, with an assortment of weapons hanging from it. There were daggers, spears, shields of different eras, and different styles of swords.
Naomi grabbed a short sword and attached the sheath to her left hip. Denzel didn’t notice her sword was a double-bladed sword.
Zeke grabbed a long spear and slid it into a sheath across his back. Denzel looked at them and their weapons and grabbed a simple hilted saber and attached the sheath to his right hip.
“Show us what you’ve got; we won’t go easy on you. Also, it’s two against you,” instructed Naomi as Zeke readied his spear in front of him. Naomi drew her dual swords making sure they were attached as one blade securely.
Denzel nodded, making sure to note the forest was only a few steps behind him as he unsheathed his saber. Naomi bolted off to the left as Zeke charged Denzel straight on. Denzel tried to watch where she went but failed as he almost instantly was on the defensive with Zeke. He blocked high as Zeke swung the spear down on him. They matched blow for blow, occasionally one would get a lucky strike but it would be only a scratch. Denzel has forgotten about Naomi and was entirely focused on Zeke.
Naomi darted into the forest and climbed a tree where she was now watching and waiting for the right moment. She watched as Zeke pressed Denzel closer towards the forest with each strike. Denzel felt beads of sweat race down the side of his face. He watched as the shadow of the forest fell over him, but didn’t notice Zeke’s slight smirk.
Naomi positioned herself behind Denzel and nodded at Zeke as a signal to keep Denzel distracted and still. She smiled and leaped down to the forest floor landing lightly on her feet, as she separated her dual swords. Zeke made sure that Denzel would strike next. Denzel swung his saber down at an angle.
Zeke blocked and watched as Naomi snuck her swords to be across Denzel’s neck and pointed at his spine, barely touching his back. Dezel froze and Zeke positioned his spear to be aimed at Denzel’s shoulder. “You forgot to watch your six. I suggest you yield, or Zeke spears your shoulder,” hissed Naomi.
Denzel inquired as he thought of how to escape, “When did you get the second sword? Did you double back for another weapon just for me? How cute.”
“I had two swords from the start, it’s a double-bladed sword. Guess that's your mistake Humie. Now yield or get run through,” Naomi cooed. Denzel saw no escape so he dropped his sword off to the side.
“Smart choice,” Naomi whispered into his ear. Zeke and Naomi sheathed their weapons with a smile.
Denzel asked curiously, “How are you guys so good?” he picked up his saber and sheathed it.
“We have been practicing since we were little cubs, we used to dream of being the best warriors,” answered Zeke, as they walked over to the weapons rack.
Denzel looked at him curiously. “We gave up the dream when we realized there was little chance of us being in the same squadron,” Naomi commented. Zeke and Denzel put their weapons away and headed towards the other side of the field where there were a few scattered benches. Naomi headed into the false mountain area and practiced with her swords on uneven ground.
Denzel watched her confused, “Why isn’t she joining us?”
“Because we are going to learn about the laws of the land. Since she gave that subject to me, she gets to go practice,” Zeke replied as he sat on the bench. Denzel sat next to him and listened to all the different laws of this land. The first rules he heard:
Share with others, but don’t let them steal from you.
Respect Nature, as it nurtures all.
Don’t stare at other Cryptic’s features, and NEVER touch their tails.
Don’t kill Cryptics, or humans, except in self-defense or to protect the leaders.
Should a human or Cryptic attack one of the leaders, they will be marked as “kill on sight.”
All must gather at the summons of the Cryptic leaders.
Chapter 6
While Zeke schooled Denzel on the Cryptic laws of the land, Naomi climbed to the top of one of the mountains after transforming into a caracal. She had carried the double-bladed sword in her mouth, thankful that she had grabbed the sheath as well. Once at the top she transformed back to her somewhat human appearance. She practiced by imagining she was in a fight. Zeke occasionally glanced up at her to catch sight of how she was doing in the distance.
The young caracal slipped every once in a while, as her tail seemed to get in the way. She was still trying to get used to her Cryptic features. Occasionally, she would try doing some flips to avoid some invisible weapon and her tail would wrap around her legs, causing her to stumble.
From his distance, Zeke could still see that the tail was trying to help her balance at first but then wrapped around her legs. He called forth his aura which was a ghostly blue lynx. He sent it with a message up to Naomi, who looked at it with a smile. The lynx spoke with Zeke’s voice, “I noticed your tail wrapping your leg after hesitating. You’re thinking too much, let your tail do want it wants. You just focus on your opponent.” Naomi nodded and patted the lynx before it returned to Zeke to lay at his feet.
She relaxed and tried the leap again--this time not focusing on her tail. Her tail went straight behind her somewhat erect, and she landed perfectly balanced and was able to do her follow-through move wit
h no hesitation. She grinned from ear to ear and continued practicing for a while longer.
Zeke continued to review the rules with Denzel, and had moved to the ones more unique to specific types of Cryptics, such as:
Don’t touch a Shadow Beast’s aura without permission.
Don’t grab an Anansi’s or Siren’s ears without permission.
Don’t shove a Kappa. You could spill their water and kill them.
Respect your differences.
Zeke also showed him pictures of different Cryptics. He had a picture of Naomi for the Anansi’s and a picture of himself with his aura for Shadow Beasts. There was a picture of a Siren with a tiger shark tail, and a picture of his latest crush: the Loki boy with his curved, golden horns.
Then there were the secretive Cryptics. A Gorgon with green snakes for hair (Denzel thought she had a nice smile despite her wild hair). Then Zeke showed him a picture of the last Droga, with red markings on his arms and face. Denzel’s face lit up with surprise as his markings almost perfectly matched the former Droga’s--the only difference was color and three stripes on his forehead that were absent on the former Droga’s.
Naomi climbed down the false mountain as a caracal and transformed back to her humanoid form once she was in front of Zeke and Denzel.
“Time to work on your transformation, Humie,” instructed Naomi as she smiled. Denzel was still looking at her like she had grown a second head.
“Seriously? Snap out of it, Humie. This isn’t the first time you have seen me transform. Keep in mind, though, that when you are in the human world you are confined to your creature form. In our world you can be in either form,” Naomi snapped causing Denzel to stand up.
Zeke took her weapon and went to put it away before heading into the forest area.
“So how do I transform, Naomi?” Denzel asked curiously.
“Imagine yourself becoming something new, something wild. Feel yourself become untamed,” Naomi instructed before transforming into a caracal. Denzel closed his eyes and pictured himself becoming something else, something with fur. He imagined his hands becoming paws, fur covering his body. Denzel imagined himself as a wild animal. Naomi watched with wonder as he became a Droga’s wild form. He became a slender, feline-like creature with a slim, long tail. His clothes faded away in his black fur that was occasionally broken up by green markings that looked like tribal stripes. His eyes became feline as his snout lengthened, but only slightly. Denzel’s canines lengthened to that of a leopard, and he stood as tall as one on all four of his paws.
He opened his eyes and noticed everything seemed a bit more vibrant… and taller? He looked at Naomi-the-caracal, and she was a little over half his size. He looked behind him and saw that he was no longer in his humanoid form.
Naomi spoke, her voice like a feline growl, “Let’s see what your wild form can do. Try and keep up!” with that she took off into the forest.
Denzel watched her go, smiling before he took off after her. He struggled at first, but eventually, he found his balance on all fours. Naomi glanced over her shoulder to see if he had figured out how to run in his wild form and decided she’d make it a challenge as she leaped into the trees and raced forward. She moved from tree to tree using the branches as her path.
Denzel watched her from the forest floor below, even as he kept moving. He watched her gain distance and realized with surprise that she was faster up there than he was on the forest floor. He looked ahead of him for a tree to climb up as he kept his pace. It took a few moments before he saw a tree he could leap up to. He tensed his muscles in his hind legs as he got closer. He was almost at the trunk of the tree before he leaped upwards towards the trunk, his claws extended and ready to dig into the bark. He landed for only a second before he leaped up to a branch that Naomi had just run across.
She looked back and smiled barely panting, “Eat my dust Humie!”
He smirked, accepting her challenge and took off after her. He struggled at first as he couldn’t find his balance and had to slow down to see where to leap to the next. Naomi slowed to keep an eye on his progress.
She shook her head as she watched him step onto a weak branch that broke under his paw.
“What made you think that branch was secure? It had lichen and vines on it, the vines alone should have been a sign to step somewhere else,” Naomi scolded.
Denzel looked down at the forest floor where the branch lay. His ears flattened against the back of his head, like a cat. “It was still attached to the tree, so I thought it would work.”
Naomi smacked him on the head with one of her front paws, “Just because it is still a part of the tree doesn't mean it will support you. Try going as fast as you can don’t think, don’t look down. Just run.”
With that, she snarled and bit at his hind legs. Denzel was caught by surprise and ran as fast as he could, not wanting to test his ability to fight in his wild form just yet. Naomi chased after him smiling, caught up easily, and surged past. Denzel watched her muscles flex while she ran, and he felt a heat in his chest, but it was only for a moment, so he pushed it out of his mind.
He surged forward as he realized she was widening the gap between them. He sped up and caught up with her, but just barely, as he was going as fast as he could, yet he was only able to stay next to her hindquarters. Naomi made even that difficult as she occasionally managed to catch his leg with one of her claws, her eyes glaring back at him from over her shoulder.
On one such incident Naomi smirked as her claws caught his flesh through his fur and made a nasty gash. Denzel stubbornly ignored the pain and the blood until he accidentally landed on a large, weak branch and went crashing down to the forest floor.
Naomi kept running as she approached the mountain area, not checking to see if he was still following. Denzel had taken a nasty fall, landing ten feet below where he was running, and lay limp partially on the path and partially on the branch, but Naomi hadn’t noticed.
Chapter 7
Denzel woke to a pain in his side and shoulder. Half-dazed he got up and shook his head to try and remove the cobwebs from his mind. He stumbled deeper into the forest and came across an abandoned portal doorway. It looked like the front door of his family’s house with stones around it. He pushed it open thinking of his family and walked through. He stepped out on the other side in the forest near his house. He smiled seeing a familiar place, finding a small trail leading to the back of his home.
Wonder if my family is okay. I should go check on them. Let them know I'm alright. He followed the trail slowly, nervous to see them again. He had totally forgotten that he was in his wild form as he moved closer to the house and the possibility of seeing some of his family.
Meanwhile back in the training area with Naomi and Zeke, they were both looking for Denzel. Naomi followed his scent trail while Zeke checked the desert area--his aura checking the Mountain region.
Naomi stopped short as she saw the portal doorway that he used. She called out behind her, “Zeke, in the human world.”
Not bothering to check if he had heard, she went through the doorway making sure the door closed behind her. She exited the portal doorway and picked up his trail. Naomi made haste as she followed his scent trail; she was going on wild instincts now as she ran through the forest leaping over bushes with no hesitation. After several long minutes she finally came to Denzel’s former home. She scanned the area from the edge of the forest and almost instantly she located Denzel. He was striding along the side of the house towards the front door. She charged after him, her padded paws effectively keeping her approach silent until the last moment when she leaped towards him and tackled him to the ground. Denzel, caught by surprise, struggled against her grasp as he tried to get off his back or out from under her control.
Naomi held him down using all her weight to keep him pinned to the ground. She hissed in his ear, a pure sounding caracal hiss. “Stop struggling and listen,” Naomi ordered in a harsh tone, her canines inches from his neck. Denzel
stopped struggling as he recognized the voice. He looked up at his former home with longing.
“You can’t see them ever again, especially in that form. Your wild form will scare them. You aren’t one of them anymore, you aren’t their Hunter. You are Denzel, you are the Droga,” Naomi said with a hiss.
“I just want to tell them I am safe,” Denzel said with a whimper, a tear in his eyes. Naomi let him up and sat tall with her tail wrapped draped behind her.
“Well you can’t do that. We can’t interact with them unless we plan to cause trouble for them, but your family is out of bounds for that.” She saw Denzel hang his head with a sigh. “Though there isn’t a law against you leaving one letter for them.”
Denzel lifted his head and looked at her in surprise. “ Of course neither of us have pen and paper on us. So we will have to return with the letter sometime later this week,” Naomi continued as she continued looking at his former home.
Denzel looked at her with a smile, and a flame of heat flickered in his chest once more. It wasn’t as brief as before, causing Denzel to look away from Naomi and towards his former home.
“We should head back, then. Thank you Naomi,” he said softly as he turned back to the forest. Naomi smiled as she got up to follow him.
It didn’t take long for them to get back to the portal doorway they had come through. Naomi took the lead and they arrived back in the field area of the training grounds where Zeke waited, pacing, his aura sitting on the bench watching him.
Naomi and Denzel were instantly transformed back to semi-humans as they exited the portal doorway. Zeke looked up from his pacing and rushed over to hug Naomi. “I was so worried when you disappeared without a word. Don’t ever scare me like that again.” Naomi smiled as she looked at his face.
“I yelled to tell you where I was going. It’s not my fault you didn’t hear.” She ruffled his hair with a laugh.
Zeke commented as he looked over at Denzel, “I think we have all had enough training and excitement for today. I’ll see you both tomorrow.”
Cryptic Wonder- the Awakening Page 3
