by Emily Wilson
“Wouldn't put it past them,” Jase agrees. “They've done that to me a fair few times.”
“I don’t yell.” Kato pokes his ribs and then drinks a little more water. “Do you have an idea of the distance it can protect? Is it even enough to shield Deadrun?”
They both shrug, but Jase defers to Tague. “We don't know. No one does, it hasn't been used in our lifetime... or several lifetimes before us, either. I can't really tell you more than that because I simply don't know.”
Azrian once again finds himself with more questions than answers, but figures that just maybe — if they can survive this journey and find the Atarax — he might get some soon.
WHEN THE SMELL CHANGES around them, so does the energy. All four of them are strained and afraid of what lies before them, and Kato is glad his stomach has settled by now. Healing yourself while actively feeling sick is much harder than he expected. It takes a lot of energy to focus and heal, and when you’re drained it can be impossible.
Now that he has a handle on the sickness, he finds himself standing at the front of the boat with Jasestros. “Hey... can I ask more about your last mission? Tague looks a little pale.”
Jasestros smiles sadly. “We were on a recon mission. It was supposed to be simple — just a quick get in, get out kinda thing — but we ran afoul of a sea dragon that I didn't believe existed. Our boat crashed and I got... well, I got faeched, and not in a fun way. I thought I was gonna die.”
“Shadows.” Kato glances back at Tague. “I see why he’s worried. Were you sure it was a sea dragon?”
His eyebrows shoot up, but he lifts his shirt to reveal barely healed scars. Whatever attacked him was huge. “What's it look like to you? Thing grabbed me around the waist and tried to cut me in half, but Tague hit it in the head with... I don't know. Something. It let me go, but its tail hit the hull of our boat and it started to sink. I honestly don't have a clue how he got me on land.”
“Well, he loves you,” Kato states plainly. “We’ll do anything to help or protect the ones we love. We thought we saw a dragon on our first trip, but it might have been the water. Did you know ‘The Wastes’ is literal?”
“Yeah, for everyone but me. Watch.” He reaches out and curls his fingers as a stream of water rises from the sea and hovers in front of him. Kato can't make out exactly what he's doing, but he can see the water changing until it's as crisp and clear as anything he's ever seen. “There,” Jase says. “Hold out your cup.” Kato scrambles to grab it, and water flows from the sea directly into it until it's overflowing. Jase nods encouragingly. “Go ahead. Seriously. It's safe to drink now.”
Kato’s hesitant, but he trusts that Jase wouldn’t do anything to make a fool of him or harm the mission, so he takes a drink. It’s smoother than any water he’s ever tasted, and he downs the cup in seconds. “Wow... Cal definitely didn’t know how to do that.”
“Few do. There's normally not much of a need for it, but when your hero is dying of thirst while you're bleeding out, you tend to figure things out you never thought were possible.” He refills Kato’s cup and points to a couple of barrels behind them. “In case I’m sleeping, there's more. We came prepared, and there’s food below deck.”
“This is already so much better than our last trip. I puked every single day that time.” Kato shudders and takes another drink. “And having a below deck is nice too... privacy.”
Jase chuckles and nods, then nudges Kato. “Yeah, yeah. But me first... we barely got time to breathe after our last mission, and we weren't alone for that one, either. It's been too long.”
AFTER A COUPLE OF HOURS, Kato starts to think Jase and Tague called it a night, but he isn’t complaining. Them being down there means Kato and Azrian have some time alone up here, and he’d never say no to that. The water has been smooth, and as far as any of them can tell, they’re going in the right direction.
It brings on a false sense of security that Kato falls into comfortably. During an especially heated moment with Az, something bumps into the bottom of their ship and causes the entire thing to jolt. “What was that?” Kato stills and sits up to look around.
“Shadows,” Azrian whispers, kissing his neck again. “Probably just a rock or something, or maybe it was Jase and Tague. Just stay with me.”
It’s almost enough to bring Kato back into the moment, but it happens again just as he leans back down, this time hard enough to knock over their barrel of water. “Az... what if it’s a sea dragon!”
“For Cettia’s sake,” he hisses, scrambling out from under Kato and nearly tripping on his pants as he tries to get them back on. “If it's not a sea dragon, I’m pushing you overboard.” He rights the barrel and inches closer to the side of the ship, then peers over into the water. “Um...”
“Um? What um? Um like the Atarax has magically floated to us so we can go home, or um like we’re about to die?” Kato stands, hurrying to fix his pants.
Azrian backs up slowly and then turns, running back to Kato and pulling him toward the hatch. “Um as in I don't think sea dragons have pointy fins, but whatever that is, I don't want any part of it.”
“Shadows. Not like a big craivil? Maybe it’s harmless?” The giant thud has the boat rocking so far to its side that Kato and Azrian nearly fall overboard, and everything about that tells them it’s the opposite of harmless.
The other two men charge upstairs with their hair wild and grip the ledge to look over. “It’s a pistalus!”
“A what?!” Kato yells louder than he means to, and when said pistalus responds with a loud groaning noise, he knows it heard him.
Jase tries to calm the water around them but Tague starts yelling about a hole below deck and Azrian nearly falls through the hatch when he goes to check. “Kato!” Jasestros calls over his shoulder as the other two disappear below. “Grab the harpoon!”
“Harpoon... harpoon...” Kato has no clue what a harpoon is, but when he sees a long stick that looks like a weapon, he grabs it and rushes over. “This?”
“Yes.” Jase snatches it from him and hauls it back, then launches it into the water. They stand there, breathless and waiting until the pistalus' tail flicks above the water again. “Faech!”
Kato doesn't have time to react or try to stop him — Jase climbs up onto the side of the ship and dives off, disappearing under the rocky waves and out of sight. “What the—” Kato stands there staring at the water with his mouth agape. He nearly yells for Tague when he realizes that him coming up here and freaking out wouldn’t help at all, so he just stands there and waits to see if there’s some way he can help. It occurs to him then that he has no idea how to swim. “Shadows. Jase!”
Several seconds later, Jase is spit back onto the boat’s surface by the sea itself, bloody and gasping for air. “I faeching hate the Wastes!” he yells, then gets up and pulls his ruined shirt over his head. “Remind me to gift this to Guara when we get back. Stupid canch, who in the shadows does she think she is?”
“That’s not... you’re not injured?” Kato rushes to his side and prepares to heal him, but relaxes when he can’t see any visible injuries. “Did you kill the water canch at least?”
Jase snorts. “Yeah, but I lost the harpoon. I was saving that for the damn sea dragon.”
“What in the shadows just happened?” Azrian asks as he and Tague resurface. “Are you guys okay?”
“Yeah... just fine. Jase went for a little swim.” Kato gives Tague a look, but the one he gets in return has him backing away. “Maybe we should give them a moment? Everything all good down there?”
“You went in the faeching water, Jasestros?” Tague storms closer as Kato grips Azrian’s tunic and drags him below deck.
“He’s going to kick his ass.”
Azrian shifts on his feet as he stares at the wooden planks above their heads. “Do you blame him? He told me some of what happened. I'd kick your ass too if it were us. I'm just glad you're both okay.”
“I thought you couldn’t kick my ass.” Kato grins and reaches
out to fix Azrian’s hair for him. “How bad was the hole?”
He points to a roughly patched area toward the bottom and smiles a little sheepishly. “I'm better with metal than I am with wood, but it should hold as long as nothing else tries to force its way in here.”
“I don’t think you’re too bad with wood.” Kato grins and plays it off instantly. “We built a whole house.”
“Uh-huh. I'm sure that's what you meant,” Azrian teases. “Do you think they're done yet? Maybe we shouldn't leave them alone.”
“They’re fine. I think we were in the middle of something.” Kato lifts Az up and lays him back on the bed. Whether Jase and Tague were done didn’t matter anymore. He had Azrian down here with him, and aside from another deep-sea creature trying to eat them, nothing was going to interrupt them this time.
WHEN THEY FINALLY DOCK on the island, Kato stands on the black, crystalized sand in awe. It looks just as magical as the Simbian Forest — if not more so — and the formations of the rocks look impossible. “Whoa.”
“Yeah... whoa,” Tague whispers back.
Azrian stays tense at his side as they take their first few steps, but turns and breaks into a flat out run at the first sound they hear from the jungle before them. He runs smack into Jasestros with an “oof,” then pats his chest with an apologetic laugh. “I didn't mean to go that way. I meant to run toward the danger, not away from it.”
“You're a weird little man,” Jase comments.
“He’s my weird little man.” Kato turns Az the correct way and urges him on. As they near the trees, he notices they seem to be glowing. It makes him slightly more uneasy but the sounds surrounding them are inviting, almost as if the animals are welcoming them inside.
Azrian becomes harder to push forward the closer they get. “Kato, this is a bad idea. Terrible idea, I've heard these stories. Remember how I told you the people that go to the Wasted Waters never come back? What if this is why?”
“Is that the vibe you’re getting, Azzy? Listen closer... I don’t think anyone will hurt us here. I don’t know why, but I can feel it.”
Tague huffs, his body pressed against Jase’s. “I sure hope you’re right.”
Nothing about Azrian’s demeanor relaxes. “No, there’s something in there. Kato, I'm telling you. There's something in there.”
“Yeah. The faeching Atarax. Let’s go find it before we end up late to meet Aleon.” Jase picks Tague up and carries him into the jungle, but Azrian's breathing is becoming erratic.
Kato follows suit, lifting Azrian up and takes long strides until he catches up with the other two. It’s much louder when they’re surrounded by trees, and Kato can’t help but search for the culprit of the melody. “What is that?”
“The singing? Those are oscael. They are similar to oscim back home, but their song is much prettier. They prefer islands.” Tague smiles for the first time since they touched land. “Sometimes I do, too. I don’t trust new places.”
Azrian squirms until Kato sets him down, then smacks his arm. “I can walk. I just don't want to.” He stomps ahead of them and covers his ears to block out the oscael, then suddenly relaxes and starts moving more freely.
“I'll say it again,” Jase comments as they begin to follow, “He’s a weird little dude.”
“Shut up. Just... follow him.” Az may not want to be here, but from the way he’s walking, it’s almost as if he knows where he’s going. After what Kato saw with the sword, he feels deep in his bones that there’s something much bigger here at play, and for whatever reason, Azrian is the key. He hears Jase walking closely behind him, but he keeps his eyes on Az as he follows him even further into the forest.
They walk for hours until the sun is setting behind them and Cettia starts to rise. Everyone's exhausted, but Azrian seems like he's buzzing with energy he has no business having. “Can we rest?” Jase asks, pulling Azrian to a stop. “I think my legs are gonna fall off.”
“Azzy. He’s right... we should rest. Let’s eat something and sit for a few moments.” Everything about Az says he doesn’t want to, but one look at his companions has him nodding and finding a seat.
They end up convincing him to camp there for the night, and the agreement seems to snap Azrian out of whatever’s going on in his head. “Sorry, guys. I know we looked all over the place today... but hey, that's less ground we have to cover tomorrow, right?”
The responses are little more than exhausted grunts and Tague is asleep in Jase’s lap before the fire even warms their meal. He wakes him, of course, forcing him to eat some food before letting him return to his slumber. Kato pats his lap for Az to do the same. “I’ll take first watch.”
“You sure?” Azrian asks. The exhaustion is evident on his face whether Az wants to admit it or not, and when Kato doesn't budge, he curls up without any further complaints. He can’t help but smile down at him, and when Jase double checks he’s okay to stay up, he feels confident he’ll be fine. It’s just a couple hours and then he’ll switch with someone. What's a little while longer?
The oscael are still singing up in the trees, and it’s so soothing to Kato’s ears that he doesn’t even realize when he lays down with Az to hold him. His eyes grow heavier by the second, and before he knows it, he joins them all and falls fast asleep.
A rustling in a nearby bush coaxes Kato back to consciousness, and when he opens his eyes, the sun is already shining up in the sky. Realizing that he fell asleep, he sits up as fast as he can and checks their surroundings. Nothing is out of place. Jase is awake now and running his fingers through Tague’s hair. As Kato looks down at Az, he catches sight of something approaching in the corner of his eye. His hair stands on end as he slowly turns his head and comes face to face with an ursin. The scream catches in his throat and he jerks Azrian awake, scared to say even one word that may provoke the large, furry beast.
“What?” Azrian mumbles as he tries to nuzzle closer, but a few insistent taps from Kato have him sitting up. “What?” he repeats a little louder, but instantly clamps a hand over his mouth when he sees the ursin. Slowly, he lowers it again. “She's got the same markings that Axis does,” he whispers. “Just slightly different symbols. Do you think...”
“I don’t know what to think, but she doesn’t seem to want to hurt us.”
The ursin snorts but makes no move to attack. Instead, she lets out a low, rough sound a little too close to a growl.
“What is she saying?” Tague rushes out in fear, and Kato doesn’t even turn his head to look at him. He’s too afraid to offend her and everyone here knows he isn’t a Cogitare anymore. Of course he doesn’t know what she’s saying.
“How in the shadows would I know? Do you know of a Sana that can speak to animals?” It comes out harsher than he meant, and he might feel guilty about how Tague doesn’t respond if he wasn’t about to be eaten by the largest animal he’s ever seen. “We don’t mean to intrude. We’re here on a mission to find—”
The ursin huffs through her nose to shut him up and her eyes are locked on Azrian. Once again, Kato curses Syphon for taking his gift — because he’s thought long about Hanigen’s question, and Kato now knows it was a gift. She tosses her head in the direction they were heading last night and falls forward on her front paws, starting her trek deeper into the trees.
“Come on,” Azrian mumbles, pushing himself up and following her without checking to see if the rest of them are keeping up. The ursin clears a thick path to make things easier for them, but Kato finds himself missing Axis — at least he offered them rides.
It still takes another half an hour before the ursin comes to a halt. Azrian's hand runs over the beast’s back as he moves in front of her to see why they stopped, and the string of bewildered cuss words that follow have Kato curious.
“Az... why do you sound like you’re teaching me swear words again?” Kato whispers. He has no clue why he’s whispering, but it feels right for the magical scene before them.
Azrian stares in awe as he st
eps around the ursin holding the orb from the drawing Tague showed them in his hand. “This is it. I think we just found the Atarax.”
13 The Failure
The trip home feels much shorter than the trip to Ursina Island. Why the bear surprised them makes no sense, it’s in the name. Thankfully, the ursin was kind — to Azrian, at least. She didn’t seem to want anyone touching the orb but him, and the others weren’t in a rush to get eaten so the Atarax stayed in Az’s hands.
It isn’t until they’re docking the boat that they realize they must have been protected by the orb, but none of them are complaining about the lack of catastrophe in the slightest.
“So that’s it, huh?” Aleon asks, reaching out his hand for it.
The ursin is long gone, but Kato still looks around like him touching it might be a bad idea. “It’s Azrian’s.”
With a narrowed gaze, Aleon mocks him with a groan. “Why do you get all the cool stuff?”
“Believe me,” Az mutters. “I wish I knew. I just have this feeling I'm gonna seriously regret the fact that it's always me.”
“Or the opposite. You’re chosen for a reason, Azzy. The gods know what they’re doing.” Kato smiles as reassuringly as he can and tugs on Azrian’s hair, making his breath catch in his throat.
Aleon groans. “Get a room, you two.”
“Shut up,” Azrian mumbles, fixing his hair tie and trying to block his face, which has turned a deep red. “But anyway, I don't care if the gods know what they're doing or not. This still sounds like it's going to be terrible.”
“Maybe. Either way, I’ll ride this carriage with you until the wheels fall off, Az.” Kato grips his chin to meet his eyes, wanting him to feel how serious he is.
Tague and Jase share a lighthearted laugh, but Aleon is already over their affection. “Gross. Were they like this the whole trip?”
“Nah,” Jase says. “The whole way there he was either puking or helping me fight off a pistalus, but it was pretty much like this on the way back. We didn't really notice, though.”
