manticore with friends

I wake up from a midday nap to the sounds of chatter outside. In a flash I'm on my feet. Kieran's back!

I scuttle out of the den, into the heart of the pagoda. A beautiful, serene, and carefully constructed garden awaits, and standing at the center, I see Kieran and Rav having a friendly chat. Sola, my Guide, flutters quietly behind. I am insistent that she go with Kieran if he and I ever have to split up. That way, if there's ever an emergency, she can alert me immediately, or vice-versa.

"There he is! You weren't napping again, were you?" Kieran grins wide and scratches the back of his head. A nervous habit he has of defusing a situation's awkwardness. 

"No," I lie sheepishly. "Welcome back, you two. Anything interesting happen?"

Kieran looks over his shoulder. "Well..."

I follow his gaze. Of course. 

"Hellooooo Auggie!"

I bury my face in my hand. "Hi, Decoy."

The little Ferin girl hops up to me without skipping a beat. She must have followed Kieran up the mountain. She's grown a lot taller since I first met her a year ago, but she's still not even up to my shoulders. She's certainly still feisty, though! And as infatuated with Kieran as ever...

"If it isn't my third-best student!" Rav says, hoisting Decoy up from the ground and spinning her around playfully. 

"Here, Decoy, you stay up there for a sec! The adults need to talk!" On that note, he hurls Decoy into the air. I hear a panicked scream as the Ferin child is vaulted twenty feet up, but right as she starts to fall, a puffy cloud appears underneath her and catches her. 

"I'm assuming she followed you because she's spotted another Manticore Nest?" Rav says, his tone shifting a bit more serious. 

"Yeah," Kieran replies. "Not far from here, either."

Rav whips out his signature fan. He uses it to whip up Cloud Magic in combat. He covers his face with it slightly and steps away from us, his billowy robes blowing in the wind. 

"She's an excellent scout," Rav notes. "I ever tell you what I've been having her do, August?"

I furrow my brow. "Sort of." I know the basics, just from being around Rav, Kieran, and Decoy when they talk. Decoy was given the task to find and help dispatch ten Manticores. Rav told her that if she could accomplish that mission, he would make her an honorary 'Sage-in-Training', whatever that is. 

"This would be Manticore number eight for her," Rav ponders. "I've gone with her to kill seven so far. But perhaps this is a good opportunity to get you some actual combat experience, August."

"You just want to stay here and sleep on a cloud all day."

Rav's eye twitches and he raises a fist at me. "That's not the main reason!"

Rav pouts and he exhales a tiny, melodramatic sigh. "It's so hard being a Sage, you know. Having to be responsible to mold all of your young minds..." He shrugs, but he's not even facing anyone. Having one of his soliloquies. I swear, Rav thinks he's the star of a one-man stage show.

Rav clacks his fan shut and points it directly at me. "August Madera! You've been training with me for a year. Your combat abilities are exceptional, if not a little brutish. A little Manticore with friends would be a fine challenge! So here's my thinking. Instead of me killing the Manticore with Decoy, you two should do it. Don't worry, you'll be plenty safe. Decoy herself could handle a Manticore alone if she had to. Not that I'd let her. I wouldn't dream of letting my cute, precious little student go off alone into a dangerous place like that..."

"You talkin' about me?" Decoy squeaks from afar. The cloud has floated up even higher. I can barely hear her.

"So, whaddaya two strapping young lads say?" Rav winks. "Will you take care of my precious student and help her with her homework?"

"Can't you at least come with us, and show us how it's done?" Kieran negotiates, but I take the initiative.

"We can do it." I nod at Rav and look directly into his playful blue eyes. His expression hardens - subtlely, but I notice. He feels the depth of my conviction.

"Excellent. You boys get through this without any issues, and I have an extra special surprise for you both. Now, where is this 'nest'?"

Kieran looks skyward. "You'll have to ask Decoy about that one. She ran into me on my ascent up the mountain."

Rav whips his fan open once more and makes a beckoning motion with it. The magic cloud that Decoy is resting on begins to float down toward us, bringing her slowly back down to the earth.

"I'll go over the 'deets' with Deek. Y'all can unpack. You get any of my Calico Herb? I'm low."

Kieran sighs. "Yes, I got your drugs."

"Pfft. They're not drugs, you uncultured fairy boy. It's a 'sleep aid'."

As if Rav needs any help sleeping.

"Fairy boy...?" Kieran repeats to himself, confused. He looks over to me casually, but one look at me has his eyes widen as he exclaims. "August!? You didn't show him your wings, did you? Did you!?"

I push my two index fingers together meekly.

"You did." Kieran looks away from me. He looks disappointed, sad even. Why's it such a big deal to him?

There's no sense lying to him. As my Vessel, he's attuned to my inner world. He may not be able to read my thoughts in the same way Sola can, but he can sense my emotions. There's nothing I could hide from him, not if he really wanted to know.

"I'm gunna let you two parse out whatever the hell this is," Rav says, flicking us away with his fan. "Shoo, shoo. Unpack. Leave the Calico Herb in the den, please and thanks. Decoy, come on. Tell me everything."

The two of them trot off as Decoy relays what she's gathered about the new Manticore Nest. That just leaves Kieran and I to chat together. 

"I can go too," Sola murmurs. Since taking her butterfly form, she's been less chatty, but more observant. Maybe my whole spiel about 'defying destiny' and her 'maybe having to kill me' has caused her to become more guarded.

Sola flutters away, perching on a post on one of the upper levels. Though she's gone, it's pointless. She can read my mind, can't she?

"After everything he's done for us, you don't think we can trust Rav?" I snap. I can't understand why he's so testy about this. It's not like anything bad happened. It's not like his wings were on display. 

"Of course we can trust Rav. Don't you trust me?"

I'm taken aback by the comment. "Kieran, what? I trust you more than anyone. On this planet and otherwise. You're my Vessel for crying out loud..."

My breath catches in my throat. Is that what this is about?

"I...thought you'd talk me out of it," I say defensively, crossing my arms. But, maybe I was tired of everything feeling so heavy. With Rav, it didn't have to be some grand gesture or a symbol of trust. It was just... normal. A part of me I wasn't ashamed to show. I guess I wanted that, even for a moment.

"Listen, Kieran. It's not about trust. It's...I just didn't want to burden you with something else."

"I'm your Vessel. Your burdens are mine. Isn't that the point?" Kieran's voice is steady, but there's something raw there, like a thread pulled too tight. I know this isn't just about the wings—it's about me, about us.

He hesitates in silence for a moment before speaking again. "I guess I just thought if it was ever going to happen," he starts, his voice faltering, "that I'd be there too."

My mind flashes a thousand different outcomes. A million things I could say. But none of them feel right. He's seen my wings before. I've seen his. There's a level of intimacy and trust in it, I know. But...I've already shown him that part of myself. I'm not hiding it. So why...

"Is this something we should talk about in private?" I say. My voice comes out colder than I mean it to. Too formal. 

His gaze seems to reach right into my soul. Arresting eyes, ones that catch me off-guard. He's grown more mature over the last year - both physically and mentally. But those eyes. Their ferocity, their vulnerability - he's had that same look since the day I met him. He didn't need to become my Vessel to read my heart. He's always had that power.

"I've given you everything to become your Vessel, August. My life is yours. Your goals, your dreams - I exist to further them. That is what a Vessel is. Absolute dedication."

His words are chilling, but true. And yet I don't know where he's going with this.

I don't have to wait long to find out. His next words sting, loud and clear.

"The least you can do is involve me in decisions that affect both of us." 

"Kieran."

He finally breaks eye contact. "I need to go unpack," he murmurs, slithering away. 

I watch Kieran walk away, his shoulders tense, and wonder if I'll ever get this right. The garden seems almost too peaceful for a moment like this.

My mind wanders away from the moment. For a while, I stare into the distance. I see the midday sun filter through the bamboo leaves, casting flickering patterns on the stone path. The faint scent of jasmine lingers in the air, mingling with the earthy aroma of the pagoda's wooden beams. It seems hard to believe such serenity can exist in a place like this. If only Kieran could feel some of that peace right now...

As I stand there alone in the garden, I'm startled by a sudden intrusion. It's Rav. I was so spaced out I didn't even hear him approach - though he's quiet on his feet even when I'm fully alert.

"You three will depart in an hour," Rav whispers into my ear. "Sorry about the wings, eh? I didn't mean to cause any trouble. If you need to talk about it, I'm all ears. Anytime." He playfully wiggles his ears as he talks. 

"Thanks," I say, looking at Kieran in the distance. "I might have to take you up on that, Rav."