Chapter 16.1 – New project and night talk – part 1.1

After a very happy meal, with Meryda teasing the smiling Rusha Banei every time she looked or touched her father, Craydon went to the bathroom as soon as he saw Rusha taking the dishes to the sink to clean them.

He closed the door, placed his hand over the mirror, and waited. Since his Human friend was not there, he started to brush his teeth.

When he was rinsing his mouth, a familiar voice asked in a whisper, "Hello! How is everything over there?"

"Hello there! We built a few things yesterday with Meryda's Monsters and her friends, and today she went to the Demi-Centaur siblings' farm to build a water mill. It will take the water from the river with buckets attached to the wheel, rise to some height, and deposit the water at the beginning of a wooden canal. It is a sort of aqueduct with simple materials. They will need to change for better and longer-lasting materials, but it will work."

"That is an excellent idea indeed. If other people see that and build something similar for other farms, it will improve people's lives a lot!" Jack Cross then noticed that Craydon Crawler seemed to be thinking about something, considering the awkward smile he had, so he asked, "Is something the matter? You look somewhat worried."

Craydon sighed and answered in a whisper, "It is about me and Rusha. We kind of… you know…"

"I see. And now you are worried about what? Last time we talked, you seemed to be happy about the idea of being with her."

"And I am. It's just… I don't know if it has something to do with me now being a Demi-Cat, or if it is because I am in such a different World, but sometimes I feel out of myself. When I was on Earth, I was always calm and focused, in complete control of my emotions. Now, the simplest thing makes my blood boil, and I sometimes overreact. Since Rusha is also a Demi-Cat, I don't know if she is like this as well."

With a gentle smile, Jack explained, "Demi-Cats suffer from what is usually called 'Demi Anger'. Their emotions run deep, and they get angry rather easily. It is particularly bad for youngsters, and as we grow older, our emotions calm down. Things get a lot easier with a partner because Demi-Cat emotions calm down a lot. After finding a partner they love, and they are loved back, they don't need to worry about ending all alone."

"And don't you think you should have warned me about that… 'Demi Anger'… It sounds dangerous enough to me!"

"I kind of forgot, okay? I also had a lot to get used to around here, and you didn't tell me you were in the military! No wonder my sense of danger is so high! Sometimes, I feel as if I can never properly relax!"

Craydon slowly nodded and said, "Yes, I totally forgot about that as well. We are having a lot of trouble living each other's lives, aren't we? Perhaps, now that I am with Rusha and you are with Miss Mia, things get easier for both of us."

"Well, I am not with Mia yet… Not like you, I mean. But considering things are developing fast, I might be tomorrow or the day after. My problem is that she and Sophia don't get along that well. Most of the time, they are bickering or fighting, and I am caught in the middle. There are times when they get along, but there are also others when they are trying to kill each other."

"My daughter was very calm when we were on Earth, and here, she is also very calm and polite. Her friends already said she changed a lot because she used to be a total menace, always picking a fight with everyone, but despite that, she was also kind and generous. Maybe being in a different environment is worrying your daughter, and she sometimes has trouble calming down? Or it is because of 'Demi Anger'. You said youngsters have more problems controlling their emotions."

Jack Cross sighed and said, "I know, I have to make sure she meditates every day. She used to meditate every night before going to bed, but maybe now that she is living here and with so many changes in her life, she forgot to do it."

The noise of voices approaching alerted Craydon, and he whispered, "They are calling for me. I have to go. Have a good night, my friend, and I hope things go well with Miss Mia."

Jack smiled back, and Craydon's reflection in the mirror returned to him the moment he took his hand from the mirror.

He opened the door and went out, meeting Rusha and Meryda in the moonlight, and he walked with them to the back porch and sat there.

Rusha held his hand as she was leaning her head on his shoulder and said, "You have the weird habit of talking to yourself in the bathroom, you know? We were looking for you, and we heard you talking in a low voice in there. You were cheering for yourself while you were peeing, or what?"

"No, but sometimes I like to talk to myself. I ask all sorts of questions and talk about what happened to me during the day. It helps me think."

"Really? I might try that one day! And you give good advice to yourself?"

Craydon looked up to the moon and answered, "Always. One thing I thought about some nights ago was what the Fae said about Meryda going to the front lines of that mountain range where the Ooman Alliance is. She has to go, and I am going as well."

"Well, there is no way you two are going to leave me here, so count me in as well!"

"No, you have to stay here. I don't know if I can protect you and Meryda if something happens."

While Rusha pouted, Meryda looked down and caressed the orange Salamander's head and said, "I am pretty sure my friends will want to go as well. I don't think that is a good idea because a lot can happen there, but I don't see a way to convince them otherwise."

"They can't go with us, Meryda. The Oomans will for sure capture them and threaten to kill them to force you to help them invade the Demon's country. Considering how kind you are and how much you like your friends, you will do as they say. And a lot of peaceful Demons will die."

Rusha thought what he said was weird, so Craydon sighed and told them about his conversation with the Fae and everything about his suspicions that Oomans were not as noble as they pretended to be and were, in fact, greedy and mischievous people who devised a plan to control the entire World with a lie.

While Rusha agreed with him, the young girl looked worried and said, "Father… if they threaten you… I might… I mean, I don't want to, but I might tell my Monsters to kill them all. But how can we take them with us? Maybe we can go with Lyzy, Jelly, and the small Emptiness, but only them won't be enough to defend ourselves against the entire Ooman Alliance!"

Suddenly, the noise of something growing from their left called their attention, and a smiling Fae appeared and said, "We already took care of transportation, and you forgot we Fae are going to be with you. With us, no army in this World would be a threat to you. According to our calculations, the transport will arrive tomorrow morning, so you better be ready for that. The voyage to the mountain range will take longer because you have to rest every few hours, and your rides can't fly as fast if they are carrying passengers."

Meryda made a slight frown and asked, "What transportation are you talking about? What are you up to, Fae?"

"Well, we might have talked with four members of the Dark Eight. They are the Demons in charge of all the decisions concerning the Demon country. Despite what the Oomans and Demis say about the Demons, they are mostly a peaceful race that is only defending their country against invaders. We asked if they could send two Drakes to you so that they could take you to the mountain range. You are free to tame them and make them your friends, of course."

With a gulp, Meryda asked, "Drakes? You mean… like, Dragons? Big, enormous, dangerous flying lizards?"

"Yes, that is very accurate. They look like your cute Salamander, but their front arms have wings attached to their bodies. They have two legs and long tails, which they use to change the direction of their flight like a ship's rudder, and their teeth have venom. Drakes are very intelligent, even more than Bone Boars, and they are extremely tough to kill because of their raw strength and hardened scales. They have six or ten-metre-long bodies, and the tail is half that size."

Meryda made a quick calculation and almost shouted, "You mean that from the tip of their snouts to the tip of their tail, they are nine metres long or fifteen metres long? How much is their wing's span?"

"The double of their length, of course. They can fold their wings by the middle and keep them close to the sides of their bodies so that they can use their front paws to grab things."

"When you say grab, you mean eat, right?"

The smiling Fae shrugged and said, "Of course, but also for other tasks. We know some Drakes like to cut down trees to carve wood to make sculptures and all sorts of things. In the Demon country, some of them work on construction sites, making houses or helping to build ships, and there are even some who work on farms, preparing fields or harvesting them."

"Such an enormous Monster… How much do they have to eat every day?"

"Surprisingly, not much. They prefer Magic, actually, and can live without eating any type of food for a very long time."

Rusha Banei blinked a few times, trying to get rid of her dizziness caused by the surprise of hearing so many unbelievable things, and said, "But… no one ever found out Drakes could do all that… Every time a Drake is spotted, people flee because they often catch cattle to eat. And on the mountain range, countless people have died because of them!"

"That is the rumour the Oomans spread. Drakes don't go to the mountain range to fight the Ooman Alliance. The Demons don't want to kill Oomans, which is why they never send Drakes to fight. We can't say much about Demons like you know by now. It is up to them to tell you everything about their society if they want. As for Drakes catching cattle, it is also because of the Demons' idea to make people fear Drakes so that Oomans stop trying to invade the Demon country."

Craydon stayed silent all that time, but finally, he asked, "You know, since the last time we spoke, I got the strange idea you don't like Oomans that much. Why is that?"

The green being stared at Craydon and finally nodded. "You might be right. Oomans are tiring. Fae knows that Oomans are very weak compared to Demis, and they frequently rely on Magic to fight Monsters and very big animals, but they have no right to mine the Magical Crystals in the entire World to the point that there are not any more Crystals besides the ones in the mountain range, which serves as a border and protection for the Demon country. And those crystals in there are needed. If they are extracted to exhaustion, Demons will have a lot of problems to face in the future. And this is all we are willing to say about Demons."

Craydon stretched his arms up and said, "If we are supposed to travel tomorrow morning, we better go to sleep. We need to fill a few bags with food and water, and we probably need to hunt during our stops to rest."

Rusha Banei dragged her feet as she went inside, and the green being said, "You better go talk to her and reassure her that you are going to come back. She seemed very worried about your voyage."

With a nod, Craydon darted to follow the depressed woman, while Meryda hugged the smiling Fae and whispered, "I am counting on you to protect us when we arrive at that mountain range, you cute plant!"

"Of course! You can leave the protection to us!"