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The Lost of the Marshes - Chapter 5: Intersection

by Bad Manners

===

... Kuir long had been a gem among the Two Rivers, and was known to be the first city in the region. A cultural center, where people of all walks and occupations come to meet, it is not only a place, but a concept, an institution to celebrate the wonders of life. [...] It depends on trade from nearby villages for subsistence, acting as a network of commerce between the food sources in the surroundings and goods from other nations. ...

... Even where dozens of villages and cities were razed, the Kaatian conquerors knew best to preserve Kuir and incorporate it into its empire, easing the transition of powers. But despite the emperor being the actual leader of the city, most of the local government is still made up of members from the same ruling families as before. ...

===

Nikili had been quiet for a while, staring down at the floor while walking. Ahead of him, the wagon he was supposed to escort kept trucking on the sandy road, filled with sacked grains and drawn by a regular donkey. The brown mongoose looked up to observe the two wanderers past the vehicle, a dark-blue kobold and a small yellow cat, happily running around and playing with each other, and he sighed. How did they have so much energy after almost two hours of walking was a mystery to him.

In actuality, it's not that he was tired from journeying, but his head was filled with contradictory thoughts. He had spent the last few days teaching Suu - the dragon-turned-kobold, who now lived with him and Quince - how to speak their language, and he was making quite some progress. He didn't say much, but even with his limited vocabulary, it was at least more than the mute cat. But it felt weird, after that one night... 'Ikky'... He still remembered his tone of voice and facial expression perfectly when the tall reptile said it. Nikili had fallen for him, but that shouldn't- couldn't be. Suu was Quince's friend first and foremost, he reasoned. So it was a mistake, a thing from the spur of the moment. So he repressed it and moved on with his life over the next days. But something still ate him from inside...

He knew that the only reason why he had come to live with the pair in the first place was Quince, and those two got extremely comfortable with each other. Besides, even during Nikili's lessons, the cat and the kobold indulged in their mutual interest, and Quince climbed into the dark-blue reptile's mouth a few times to play inside of his crop - even despite Nikili's protests, that they might be caught by Nurta or Ruunk if they walked into their house. But still, Suu didn't seem to mind the genderless cat's very intimate company, even if the mongoose sometimes got distracted by his student sporting a large, squirming belly throughout most of the day. At least Quince would come out a few times to eat and do other things, but Nikili no longer was surprised whenever he witnessed the cat jumping down the transformed dragon's throat multiple times throughout the day.

Now that they were on duty of escorting Nurta's wagon from Logas to Kuir, Quince agreed to not spend the day captive, partially because they wouldn't be very useful inside of Suu's crop, and partially because Nurta might be less willing to trust him if she saw him eating his companions. The whole reason she had helped them in the first place - by giving him the means to speak with them - was because she was worried about the safety of the people of Logas, a sentiment which she had shared beyond exhaustion to Nikili. To be fair, maybe if he was in her shoes, he also wouldn't blindly trust a dragon living among them. On the other hand, he was sure that Suu would never harm them. But he didn't know how to convince her that-

"Nikili? Can you hear me? Have you been ignoring me, or may we talk for a bit?" The red lizard's voice called him.

"Oh, uh, my bad Nurta... I was just distracted with... s-something..." He replied, picking up speed to catch up and face her.

"I could tell. Do you want to talk about it?"

"N-no, not really..."

"You have been falling behind this whole time." She tapped her hand next to her side on the wagon, and looked towards the donkey carrying the cart."Come and sit here, I will walk instead. This way, Mugan doesn't have to worry about the extra weight."

"You sure? I can walk the rest of the way just fine, you might get tired."

"Nonsense, Kuir isn't too far away." Nurta tranquilized him. "Besides, I need to stretch my legs."

The lizard hopped off before he could answer, so he accepted and climbed the slowly moving car to sit where she just was. Next to the seat was the cargo - both the sacks of grains that he was protecting until they were sold in the city, and Nikili's and Quince's artifacts from Zugul - and his new axe, that he had commissioned from Nurta herself. Supposedly, it was a great improvement over the last one, but he wasn't going to swing it against Suu again to test it out. He did wonder, though, how had she managed to be so skilled at bronzesmithing...

"They moved away..." The Widow whispered.

"Sorry?"

"Oh, excuse me. I simply noticed that, as soon as I jumped out from the wagon, Suugal took Quince away from us."

Nikili noticed how she'd used his full name, 'Suugal', that he'd told her about. After much insistence from the mongoose that 'Suu was too short of a name', he was convinced to adopt the longer form - even if Nikili just called him 'Suu' at every chance. If Quince could complain about how Nikili made a fuss about any non-issue, there wouldn't be enough time in a year to speak of everything.

"And you think that's to do with you?" Nikili asked.

"I believe so. Hasn't Suugal told you anything? He's been staring at me on and off the whole time." They both looked to the kobold, who was indeed glancing back at her. "He's probably wary of me."

"Wary..." Suu spoke softly to himself, to their surprise. He seemed to be paying attention to their conversation, and learning new words, to boot. When he noticed that Nikili and Nurta were staring, he faced away and scooted further ahead, and Quince followed him.

Nikili picked up the conversation. "I'm sorry again that we had to bring him with us. If only he wasn't so distrustful of you for some reason..."

"You don't need to apologize a third time, Nikili. At least you and I can keep him in check if he's with us, and not alone in Logas."

"Alone in Logas... Speaking of, what about Ruunk?" He asked.

Nurta turned her head. "Ruunk? Why, do you have an interest in her? She can't stop talking about you when we're together."

"O-Oh, no no! I'm just c-concerned. Y'know, about her not being able to come to Kuir with us. She kept talking about it."

The lizard sighed. "She could come, of course, it's not against the law, but she would be treated poorly. That's sadly the unjust reality that she and so many women have to face in this empire..."

"Not you, though."

"I was lucky. I've met the right people, said the right words, done the right things. Ruunk is a smart and dedicated woman, ever since I took her into Logas. There's no one else I would entrust my most important business to." Her stare was passionate, which was very rare for the mostly stern Widow. "If I could change anything, I would make sure that she didn't have to rely on luck and circumstance from outside to lead a decent life."

Nikili wanted to interject, but he just sat quietly. It was good that Ruunk had a figure like Nurta to look up to, he thought, like a hope that things didn't have to be unfair. But he wasn't good with politics himself, and wouldn't know how to even do anything about it...

"Apologies for rambling and bringing down the mood. I guess it's not something that you and Quince could really understand." Nurta looked away to the cat, playing outside of earshot. "Hmm... They seem to be pretty happy lately, don't you agree? They must really enjoy Suugal's company."

The mongoose nodded, thinking to himself about the 'fun' those two would have at home. But something she said struck him as odd.

"Wait, what do you mean by 'lately'? You don't think Quince was happy before?" He asked.

"Well... How do I put this... What did they do before you two found Suugal?"

Nikili thought about it. "We went to the marshes pretty much every day. It was mostly Quince insisting on it, really, even if we didn't need to. I think they wanted to stay away from home as much as possible."

"And the other days when you were in Logas, what did they do?"

"Uhh... Not much. I do most of the chores at home, and Quince just stays alone, I think in bed, or walking around the house. There's no one they really interact with but me, and some days even I don't get through their head."

Nurta simply remained silent in her own thoughts, so Nikili raised his voice in concern.

"Why? Is something wrong?"

"Oh, no, I didn't mean to be rude. Please forget I've asked about them."

The mongoose was worried. Was his friend Quince really not fine and he missed some sort of sign? He wanted to ask Nurta more about it, but he understood her reply as shutting off the topic. And he watched the cat themself run ahead with Suu, now that the two had spotted the city walls.

Kuir truly was a sight to behold, and just from the outside, the large brick walls were already an indication of how much bigger it was compared to Logas. The city gate was open, as was the custom during peace times, welcoming the visitors from Logas to join the thousands of people going about their day in the capital of the southern First River. Once inside, Nurta asked to change places with Nikili to sit back on the wagon.

"Very well, we can split up now. I'll head to the inner fortress, and you three can find your contact for your goods. And we can meet up here later." The Widow said, intentionally being vague about the scavengers' artifacts. Commercialization of such items was only done through the black market, and was considered illegal - so she didn't want any eavesdroppers to catch onto the secret.

"Wait, we aren't coming with you?" The mongoose asked, while he picked up two bags from the cart and handed the smaller one to Quince. "Don't you need our protection in the city, too?"

"I'll be fine. The officials know me well, and I'll take the open paths in public." She grabbed Nikili's axe and stretched her arm towards him. "You are the ones who will need to be careful in the back alleys."

Nikili looked at her and nodded before taking the weapon. "You don't need to worry about us."

"Yes, I do. Because I know you two won't worry about yourselves, will you? You have quite a knack for trouble-"

"Okay, I get it!" He complained. "A-Anyway, we'll get going. But before we meet up to return to Logas, there's some stuff I'd like to buy." The mongoose glanced at Suu, who was definitely eye-catching in the crowd of people: he was tall, colorful, and naked, and he hoped to change at least that last part. The less attention the kobold garnered, the better, which is why he wasn't a colorful feathered flying reptile right now.

"Very well, there's no need to hurry. Mugan will need some food and rest, anyway."

***

"Would ya look at that! So many things, and in great condition, too." The cloaked mouse spoke, only his gray snout visible to the visitors. With a finger, he prodded the artifacts displayed on the windowsill facing the back alley. "That's the stuff. 'Fraid I don't even have money to compensate ya proper this time, 'Kili."

"Really, Bise?" Nikili crossed his arms at the man inside of the house. "Can't you do us a favor? I don't wanna bring stuff back with us to Logas, and we might not get a haul like this ever again."

"What, ya gettin' outta business?"

The mongoose shrugged. "Everyone else has, y'know? It's too dangerous both in the marshes and in this city. You've gotta have heard the rumors."

"Goin' clean, huh? That's good on ya. Contraband doesn't suit a good man like ya, and you're still young." He looked down at Quince. "Ya both are. Do ya have a plan what you're doing?"

"I think so. Nurta said she'd give me an opportunity to run my business, but I still need gold to start anything. But it will let me look after Quince, and..." - he paused for a moment - "their friend."

"Heh, if ya say so... Ya know what, gimme one second." Bise quickly shut the window with a reed curtain as he rushed inside, and returned a few minutes later lifting a big sack. "S'all I the coin I have. Probably not enough for ya, but-"

Nikili's eyes bulged. "Woah, that's so much! It's a deal! But is it really all you have? Won't that be bad if you go broke?"

"Nah, 'Kili, s'a fair trade. Let an old man like me help ya get a new life. Besides, with this stuff ya brought, maybe I can also retire!" He laughed strainedly. "I even know who can pay for all of this as a set. That old gator in the lonely palace of 'is..."

The mongoose felt someone tugging at his arm, and it was Quince trying to call his attention. He grabbed the sack of coins and bowed his head to the man inside of the building. "Thank you so much for everything, Bise. I hope we meet again."

The mouse placed down the last artifact from the windowsill onto the floor of house, and raised his hand. "Tell that Widow I said hi. And that she can come visit anytime." He closed the curtain before Nikili could nod.

The brown mongoose hid the sack of coins in his shoulder bag, and squatted to meet the yellow cat face-to-face. He still had to ask them about the concern that Nurta raised. "What's the matter, Quince?"

The feline had a worried expression, and they motioned their head to the sides to indicate they were looking for something. Nikili did just so, and realized what they meant.

"W-Where's Suu?"

He stood up and ran the empty alley up to the crossing that they came from, but he couldn't spot the kobold in any other alleys. The mongoose yelled his name but there wasn't any answer.

"Wasn't he with you this whole time? When did you last see the big guy?" Quince couldn't answer him without words, so he complemented the question. "Sorry. Was it before we met Bise?" The cat nodded. "We did run into that crowd of people and had to push through the flux... But I remember Suu being with us after we made it. Did he run back to the city gate? Let's keep calm and retrace our steps to look for him."

***

"Nurta! There you are!"

The lizard turned around at Nikili's voice, sprinting towards her. She had been sitting at the now-empty cart near the city's entrance with her donkey, and she looked worried as well.

"Did something happen?" The mongoose asked. "Where's your gold or grains? W-Wait, don't tell me you were robbed..."

"No, nothing like that. I've sold everything to the Kaatian officials, and at a higher price than usual, as well. But they can't give me any gold as payment, so they've simply added me to a lender's ledger, to be payed for at a later date. I didn't desperately need the money, we have enough reserves at Logas. Though even more worrying is that they couldn't even trade me bronze, so they must be hoarding resources. Don't you see?"

Nikili blinked ignorantly. "Sorry, I don't understand what that means."

The Widow looked around, to see if there were any soldiers nearby, and whispered. "The army is mobilizing, probably using the bronze and money to make even more weapons and armor. My guess is that they are preparing for another war offensive."

"An offensive? Against who- Wait, no, that doesn't matter right now. Suu is missing!"

"Suugal? Wasn't he with you two?"

The mongoose had no time to answer. "Do you have any idea where he could be?"

Nurta continued to whisper. "Hmm, let me think... Since he was so protective of you, he might be looking for you. But he could have turned into the feathered form and flown off somewhere. More likely than not, he is still in the city, but we can't rule out the possibility that he has fled Kuir." She pondered the next course of action. "In order to find him, we should split up. I'll take the open roads by wagon, and you two will look into the secondary alleys."

"Got it." Nikili acknowledged, and turned around with Quince to run.

"Wait! Let me keep that thing you're carrying." She called to stop him, vaguely referring to the sack of coins. "It's less likely that the authorities will question me about it."

He paused for a second, deciding that he could trust Nurta's reasoning on this. "Alright. Let's hurry up and meet back here before it gets dark."

***

It had been almost an hour since they had spoken with Bise, and the scavengers had yet to find any trace of their dragon friend. They had asked around for a 'black and blue, tall lizard', but nobody seemed to have noticed him. Nikili had also started calling out Suu's name, which seemed to have called the attention of everyone else in proximity but the kobold, wherever he was.

An unknown man called them out on it. "Hey! What is this fuss and shouting all about?"

They turned around to face him, and saw an armyman approaching, wielding a lance and sporting bronze armor. "I'm sorry, sir." Nikili quickly apologized. "We were looking for our-"

"Nikili?" The dog asked when he was close to the mongoose. "Is that really you?"

At first, Nikili hadn't recognized the sighthound who towered over him at 5'11"/180cm. He looked at his short coat of mostly black fur except for the white front and hands, long and narrow buff body, curved tail, black eyes and drop ears. But the mongoose really recognized the soldier by that familiar sense of unease at his proximity. "You are... Ludana, right?"

"Ludama!" The dog corrected him. "By the emperor, it's been years since we met. Four, I think?"

"Right... That's when I retired."

"Those were the days, haha! And I see you took that cat we found in Sinipin with you, huh?" He grinned.

"Yeah, well, Quince and I-" Nikili interrupted himself when he looked at the feline, who was frozen in place, their fur raised. And their paw resting on top of one of the pockets of their belt, sweat forming on its pad. The mongoose could tell that Quince was fearful for their life, and was reaching for their knife. Was it because of Ludama?

Nikili tried to end the conversation, so he could ask them what was wrong. "I'm sorry, Ludama, we were looking for a lost friend, and we should really get going if-"

"What?! And you are really gonna leave without even talking with me? Come on, you don't wanna get on my bad side, Nikili."

The soldier had a rash tone. The mongoose couldn't tell if he was threatening him or joking - but considering that he was a Kaati official and Nikili was a civilian, he wasn't going to call on his bluff and risk serious consequences. Quince and Suu still needed him, after all.

He took a deep breath. "Okay, let's talk."

"Haha! There we go!"

"But can Quince at least go so they can look for our friend, then?"

"Who? Oh, the cat? Sure, she can go. I don't think she can speak anyway, right?" The sighthound conceded, misgendering Quince. He grabbed Nikili's shoulder and started walking away. "I know a place where we can go, don't want anybody to bother us. How does that sound?"

Nikili was dragged by the large buff dog, and turned his neck to look back at Quince, who shook their head, worried about the mongoose. 'I'll be okay', he mouthed to the cat, before he was taken to an alleyway out of their sight.

***

Mugan, Nurta's donkey, carried the now-lighter cart through the open street. The Widow looked for Suugal, intent on finding him first. She could never tell the pair of scavengers about any of this, but a part of her had expected - and hoped - that the dragon would get overwhelmed in Kuir and be separated from the two. If she had told so to Nikili, certainly he would think that she was trying to get rid of him. But she had another plan, and had to do it alone.

She had two advantages over the mongoose and cat to locate the missing kobold. She knew Kuir like the back of her hand, and she could sense Suugal's 'gasham' just from proximity. Still, finding him would be mostly a matter of luck, and convincing him to hear her out afterwards might be impossible. But from what Nikili had told her today - or rather, -not- told her -, she reasoned that the dragon may himself have reason to speak with her.

Just so, when she was close to the popular markets, she felt that presence. Suugal was nearby, but Nurta couldn't tell where, only that his 'warmth' - in lack of a better word - was faint but getting stronger. She looked around, and in a dark empty alleyway, spotted the silhouette of what looked like a long-tailed crow. It definitely wasn't a bird, though - the gasham betrayed his appearance.

"Suugal!" The lizard called out, but the dark-blue archaeopteryx's response was to fly away into a nearby building.

She jumped from the cart and walked around that house, and found a large doorway, conveniently big enough for her wagon to enter. It was probably an empty storehouse, but it seemed abandoned. The Widow pushed away the reed curtains over the doorway as she guided Mugan into the building, and brought it inside so they could have privacy from the city's eyes. The gasham was 'stenchful', so the transformed dragon definitely was inside, but his small body was hidden away from sight. Instead of looking for the archaeopteryx, she called out to him.

"Suugal, listen... Or Suu, if you would prefer. I wanted to say... thank you. I don't know why you haven't told Nikili my secret, but I appreciate your gesture."

The archaeopteryx's head emerged behind a table, her unexpected words piquing his interest.

Nurta continued. "I have some questions, and I'm sure you have yours, too. Trust me, I promise that I just want to talk."

The tiny dinosaur leapt into the air, transforming back into a tall kobold instantaneously. There he stood, still distant from the red lizard, simply awaiting her words.

***

[-TW start-]

The lancer looked at the occupant of the nearby seat. "What do you say? Pretty great, huh?" The sighthound took another sip of the cup in his hand. "Best beer in all of Kuir. Don't you agree?"

"It's good." Nikili lied. If this sour, washed-down drink was the best in the city, maybe Nurta was right to say that she saw something in the mongoose's brew. No wonder they were the only customers here... The ambiance itself wasn't bad, even if this small bar felt quite shady. No doubt it was one of the places where some Kaati soldiers would run off to during daily duty, Ludama evidently being one of them.

"Well, it's a celebration for meeting an old brother-in-arms!" He guffawed. "Speaking of things to celebrate, since you've left, I have- do you remember General Baau?"

The mongoose reminisced. "Baau? Oh yeah... We both were in his battalion. But I think he was a commander."

"He got promoted, and so did I, so I -am- a commander now." Ludama grinned while speaking loudly, as if announcing every word to the world. "Commander Ludama! It's got a nice ring, don'tcha think?"

Nikili raised the cup to cheer, but didn't bring it to his lips, and smiled politely. "Congratulations."

"Bring us two more cups, bartender!" The dog shouted to the quiet man behind the counter. "And you, Goose... Hey, remember how I called you Goose back in the day, Nikili?"

"Short for 'mongoose', yeah? But I never liked-"

"Yeah! Little Goose! I came up with it myself, hahaha!"

The mongoose did his best to hold a sigh of contempt for the nickname, but it stung every time he said it.

Still, he was curious about the information that Nurta gave him earlier. "Hey, Ludama. Not to pry or anything, y'know, but as commander, you wouldn't know about any new offensives from Kaati, would you?"

"Sorry, Goose, I can't talk about it. Did you hear something?"

The Widow was right, then. Kaati was planning something. "Just some whispers and rumors in the market."

"Don't listen to them, okay? So, Goose... I see you still wield an axe even after leaving the glory days." The mongoose's weapon sat on the counter next to him. "And a nice one, too! What do you even do these days?" Before Nikili could answer, he kept bragging on. "I still have the same lance from when I first joined the army. Had to clean it after every battle, but that's how it goes, right?"

"The same one...?" Nikili asked. "Oh, so it was probably made by Nurta, then, who used to smith bronze for our battalion back then, and made this axe too."

"Nurta? Is he, like, a mastersmith? 'Cause even after seven years of combat, I sure can't complain about his metalwork!"

"S-She is a woman."

There was an awkward silence. But the hound's loud laughter broke it. "A woman?! Haha, good one, Goose, good one! There's no way my lance was made by some chick with a weak wrist. Hah..."

Nikili faced the counter, trying to contain his anger. You'll be out of here soon, he thought to himself.

"Anyway, it was because of this Nurta that you left the army?"

"W-What?"

"I thought you left the army because of some bitch or something. Or money. Can't remember which one it was, or maybe I confused you with someone else. Anyway, your loss, see? Being in the army gets me both. So many bitches swooning just because you're a soldier, you know? I'm sure you had your fair share of chicks wanting to ride your dick too, haha!"

Nikili didn't remember Ludama being this deranged! If they thought this guy was suitable to be a commander - a lazy, misogynist, power-abusing jerk -, then, to hell with the army!

"I don't-!" The mongoose blurted out.

Ludama approached him, slightly inebriated at this point. "Huh? Speak up, little Goose."

He had to be very careful with his words here. "I don't... want the burden anymore. I don't think it was good, what we did. What -I- did. I... helped to destroy the villages. I had to kill-!"

Ludama shrugged him off. "It's a part of the job, right?"

"No! We killed innocent, unarmed villagers. All that blood... All for the expansion of Kaati. For the son of a self-appointed god-emperor we never met, but who we devoted our lives for. And when I saw Quince, scared and alone in that burning house, in what feels like an eternity ago... I decided, no more." His eyes watered as he broke down. "If I can save one life, maybe the bad I've done will go away..."

Ludama stared at his empty cup, tossed it from the counter, and grabbed Nikili's untouched cup to down the entire beer in one gulp before speaking. "Maybe I was wrong about you, Goose. You changed... Or maybe you always were a pansy deep down, and you were never cut for this job. Why, next thing you know, you're gonna let guys fuck your ass. Haha!"

Nikili got up from his chair, kicking it away in his haste. "Goodbye, Ludama. I need to go find my friends now."

"Sit down." The sighthound ordered with a deep voice. "Unless you want to be arrested for treason, after all that you've just said to a Kaati official. And it's Commander Ludama!"

The mongoose stood as his patience thinned out, a tear running across his face. "Fine, 'commander'. I can stand. Whatever you have to say, I'll hear it, and then you'll let me go."

The dog stood as well, arms crossed, using his height against Nikili's.

"You think that it was bad? Huh? It was just a job. It -is- my job! One I'm good at, and- don't lie to me, you were good at it, too. If anything, they were the bad guys, standing in the way of the glory that Kaati has achieved today. Don't you think it's much better now? One ruler, one language, one coin. I'm not guilty of nothing but sticking up for myself and my country. I'm proud. Proud!" Ludama slammed the counter with his fist. "And you wanna talk to me about undoing the things you've done... They are dead, all of them! I killed them, you killed them. They won't be less dead, and we are alive. And you wanna act like you're better than me, Goose? Really? That's the difference, you and I. I know what must be done, I do it, I move on. And I got everything I wanted, I became Commander. And you? You don't even wanna stare me in the face. You're a coward, you run away. Even when you got a good thing going. You ran from your responsibility, and from me, and from the army-"

He paused. And then he started laughing to himself in a twisted, fang-bearing grin.

"What's so funny?"

"That cat you were with today. The one from Sinipin? You ran away from the army with her?"

Something about his tone made Nikili's heart sink. "Y-Yes? What about them?"

"I see... Haha! You've kept her all to yourself, all these years... Haven't you, little Goose? Hahahaha!"

"W-W-What...?" His eyes watered. It felt like he was paralyzed in a nightmare. "What do you-"

Maybe it was a trick of the mongoose's mind, but the hound's face looked more like a monster's.

"Well, to fuck her brains out, right? Isn't that why you saved her in the first place? Hey. No judgment, you know? I would have done the same-"

Nikili's mind shut down. When he next blinked, he first saw his extended arms. Then the terrified bartender's stare opposite of the counter. And then Ludama, knocked down on the ground, along with his chair, unmoving. His ears felt deaf, all that he heard was his own gasp. As quickly as he could, he turned around, grabbed his axe, and sped through the doorway of the bar. His vision blurry with tears, he threw himself into the moving crowd of the city, and the hound's cry pierced the air.

"I WILL KILL YOU, TRAITOR!"

[-TW end-]

***

Nurta took off Nikili's shoulder bag, placing it onto the empty cart. Right now, she tried to read the kobold standing across from her. Having been socialized only recently, his body language wasn't really person-like. From what little she could tell, he seemed distrustful of her as she expected, but also tired. Suugal must have been overwhelmed by his own gasham, having crossed paths with so many people in the city.

Simply speaking to him probably won't do her much good, since he had just started learning their language, but if he still had some disposition left, then there was another way to communicate. It would be challenging, and she had never done it before. But if she understood his gasham at all, maybe she could organize her thoughts in a Manner that he could hear...

« I want you to understand me. »

The kobold jumped in surprise. Never had he heard somebody's 'second voice' so clearly. And the thoughts it communicated came across less as words and more as a feeling. But he could tell that they came from Nurta.

"You've heard it, Suugal, haven't you?" The red lizard asked.

"Y-Yes." He replied, still familiarizing himself with the ability of speech. "What... N-Nurta do?"

He could understand and speak basic words, apparently. And her idea of focusing her desires seemed to have worked.

"Your gasham." « It should let you listen to people's hearts, and you can hear feelings, or thoughts organized like them. » "It's called gasham'sag." She mixed speech and thoughts to best communicate with him.

"G-Gasham'sag... Yes. Suu." The kobold stuttered, conveying that he got her explanation.

So far, it seemed that he could make out what she wanted to say. The moment she'd met him, Nurta had sensed what type of gasham he had, and even its name in the ancient tongue. Just like anyone of their kind could have sensed. Although the details as to how that could be were long lost to her...

« I would like to know why you didn't tell Nikili and Quince about my secret. »

Suugal seemed to feign ignorance at the question, for some reason. Maybe he was worried to confront her about it out loud?

"It's okay." She tranquilized him. "Can you say it, Suu?"

An awkward silence as he hesitated to say the words. "N-Nurta, gasham."

"Yes." « There was no way I could hide my gasham from another dragon, so you must have known. It's why you've distrusted me from the very start, wasn't it...? »

"What word? Suu. Nurta. Gasham. What word?" Suugal seemed to struggle trying to say a word he hadn't learned, and he couldn't learn it just from hearing the 'second voice', as there were no sounds to repeat.

"Dragon." The Widow focused as she said the word, so that he could understand it both in speech and in her heart. It was weird that Nikili hadn't taught him this, but she assumed that he may have wanted to prevent Suugal from accidentally saying it out loud.

"Dragon. Yes. Nurta dragon. Suu dragon."

« You did not answer me. » She pressed him. « You distrust me because I'm a dragon. And because of it, you acted to protect them from me. I understand that much. But then, why? Why didn't you tell them? »

The kobold pondered his limited vocabulary at the request. "Nurta dragon. But Nurta g-gasham'sag... Suu n-not say Nurta dragon."

Nurta tried to pierce together what he had said. « You didn't tell them because... I didn't want you to? Because my heart said that? »

"Yes. Yes!"

« Even if you distrusted me? Even if you were concerned that I was a dragon? »

"S-Suu want good. Gasham'sag say, Nurta want not say. Not say, good?"

The lizard-appearing dragon couldn't really understand his reason or explanation at all. It didn't make any sense. But it really seemed that Suugal had decided to not say it simply because she wished him not to.

« I cannot understand why, but still... » "Thank you."

It was Suu's turn to ask a question. "Know more dragon?"

« You meant to ask if I know other dragons? » The kobold nodded. « No. I may have before, but those memories are gone. Even my previous form is gone. Unlike you, I can no longer turn back into a dragon, that's all I look like. It... It was part of the ritual I undertook, which was different from yours. For some reason, past-me decided to no longer be a dragon and start anew. Now, this life is the only one that I'm familiar with. I don't know what I've forgotten or why, but considering how rash of a decision it was, maybe it's for the best that I don't know. »

The kobold took in the information. "Nurta dragon... and not dragon?"

"Yes, I suppose that's one way to put it."

"More dragon... bad?"

« I don't know... Like I said, you're the only dragon I've met after I forgot everything. But I know that people have gone to the marshes and never returned, and it must have to do with feral dragons. Feral dragons like you... » She stopped for a bit. « To be fair, I guess I also distrusted you when we first met. But I saw that you only wanted to protect Nikili and Quince, and never harmed anyone. »

"Suu wary Nurta. Nurta wary Suu."

Nurta noticed that he used that word he'd repeated to himself just earlier. Maybe he picked it up when it was attuned to her emotions in the moment, and smiled.

« You're completely right. We were wary in our own ways. But there's one thing I'm interested in knowing. » "My gasham, that is." « Do you know the name? »

The name in the ancient tongue was clear to him, just like the existence of the gasham itself. "Nurta, gasham'galga."

"Gasham'galga..." She repeated. « I'm not familiar with the word. Do you know what it is? Can you try explaining it to me? »

He shook his head, like he had seen Nikili do. "Sorry."

"It's okay. Thank you for telling me, anyway." There was no way for a dragon to find out their gasham on their own, it relied on another dragon's perspective. All that she knew is that she could not hear hearts like Suugal, so she would have to learn what 'gasham'galga' was through a different mean. « Well, I want to ask you something. I don't expect you to trust me still, and that's understandable. But if I may be forward, there's something I want to say- »

"Nurta want Suu away! Want Suu away Nikili Quince. No!"

She must have let her emotions run a bit out of control, as he reacted before she could even formulate her question. « Please, hear me out. I've told Nikili and Quince that it might be best for them to get away from you, but I'm not talking about them. I'm talking about you. »

"Nurta want... say Suu?"

"Yes, Suugal, I'm talking about you." « It's for your own sake that I say this. I saw that you are attached to them, and you care about them. And I can tell you, as a dragon who has lived so many decades among people: That's a mistake. Their lives are so short compared to a dragon's, so you'll inevitably outlive them. And when they die, that's all you'll be left with, grief and regret, for an eternity. It's best if you leave them before that happens to you. »

"Nurta sad. Gasham'sag sad."

The Widow quickly wiped her eye before a tear formed, but she knew that she couldn't hide the crying of her heart from him. « Please consider it. For your sake. If you keep this up... well, I have warned you of what will happen. »

Suugal stood there, a blank expression on his face as he thought in silence. For someone who could read emotions so well, he certainly knew how to hide his intentions. She realized that maybe he wasn't lacking in body language, instead he may have been controlling it at the very minor details, in a scary way. Wishing to find out what he was really thinking, Nurta was momentarily envious of his gasham'sag.

"Suu want Nikili Quince." He finally said.

"Okay, then..." « I will not stop you. But I'll help you. They have been looking for us. » "So we need to go out there?"

He took a step back. "No! S-Sorry! More gasham'sag... b-bad!"

« I know, it's overwhelming for you to be near so many people. But we can't hide here or run away just yet, there's a place I must go in Kuir to learn more about us. I can try to sneak you outside of the city walls, but we'll be separated and you might get lost again. No offense, but if you have another panic attack- »

Nurta could feel the tingling of a migraine approaching - no doubt due to the heavy interaction with Suugal's gasham, as a consequence of her ritual to permanently stop being a dragon. The kobold could tell that something was wrong. He approached the smaller red lizard and touched her shoulder with his hand.

"Nurta stop gasham'sag. Suu do. Trust me." He tried to communicate that he had a plan, repeating words he'd learned from Nurta moments ago.

At their contact, each other's gasham felt so 'warm' and close to the cold-blooded reptiles. He took her two hands and brought them together, palms up, close to her face. He knew that there was one way for Nurta to keep him nearby and, hopefully, drown out most of the second voices of people around them. Suugal just hoped that she would not be alarmed by his unusual solution.

The kobold form vanished for the archaeopteryx to appear in its place, and Suugal flew up from the floor to her cupped hands. The last time he had appeared like this to Nurta, he was defensive against the other dragon, distant. But now they had apparently found some common ground and understanding, and neither of them felt adversarial to each other anymore, though they still felt worlds apart. Even so, the Widow wasn't sure how the colorful feathered reptile would help draw less attention to themselves.

He brought his wings - in the lack of front paws - forward and up to the lizard's round snout. The feathers brushed against the lips as his head also pushed forward. If Nurta didn't know any better, she would have thought that this weird nuzzling was an attempt at being eaten alive! But Suugal must have read that thought, because he chirped in what sounded like agreement, to Nurta's complete surprise. But that couldn't be, right? Still, she was curious to see the dark-blue dragon's plan.

Her mouth opened, revealing the dark fleshy insides of mouth and throat, with a forked muscle resting at the bottom. Nurta's breath wasn't very warm, because she was a cold-blooded reptile, and it wasn't humid, either. Her tongue looked more like a reptile's than Suu's flat tongue did when he was a dragon or a kobold. He pressed his head against that muscle, and he couldn't even tell if it had produced any saliva at all as a reaction. Nurta simply observed him.

At this chance, Suu tried to climb further inside, but before he even went too far on his own, the lizard boldly brought her hands close to her face, stuffing most of the archaeopteryx's body (aside from the tail) inside of her mouth in one motion. Being the second set of jaws he had been between in the last week, it was a lot roomier than Quince's, in great part due to Nurta being twice the height of the cat.

« Is this what you wanted to check? That's about as much as I can fit in my mouth, and your legs and long tail are still sticking out. » She asked while holding him in place, removing her hands from the way. She was worried about the viability of his 'plan'. Suugal struggled between her jaws, chirping to try and communicate something. « Sorry, I cannot understand you. Should I spit you out? »

He stopped moving, trying to think of how to communicate the next step. The dinosaur's tail flapped around, and he managed to curl it around Nurta's chin, tapping the feathers at the tip against her throat. Furthermore, he tried to push his head and wings closer to the esophagus ahead. « Do you want me to -swallow- you? Are you sure this is sensible? » She had finally understood Suugal's plan, then. It was apparently devoid of any logic or reason. But even if the archaeopteryx managed to be safe inside of her somehow, then, how would she even try to explain this to Quince or Nikili? She considered how it would be best if she could somehow conceal his presence - and lie about it, if necessary.

However, Suugal didn't seem to react negatively to any of those thoughts, which he must have heard. That gave the red lizard the last inch of confidence to take the leap of faith. She hadn't bothered to lubricate the feathered reptile with her almost non-existent saliva. Inexperienced as one would be for her first time, it shouldn't be any different than swallowing food without chewing, except at a larger scale. Nurta tossed her head back and brought one hand back to her mouth, pushing the solid mass of Urvogel into her maw. It felt so alien to distend her throat with the living creature, who tried to stay still in order to ease his predator into the act.

Nurta brought a clawed hand to feel the light-orange plate on the outside of her throat, bulging out with the proto-bird whose main body was a sixth of her size. He really was simply traveling down her food pipe... For some reason, an instinctual part of her expected him to put up any sort of fight as he did, but it was the exact opposite; it had been his intention to do this, after all. If anything, Suugal's lack of struggle only aided in getting him deeper inside of her, one inch at a time. Only his legs and tail were outside of Nurta's esophagus after enough pushing.

Just then, she could feel some movement from him as his head and winged arms shuffled about against the peristaltic walls. Suugal had no reason to fight it or struggle, but she wasn't sure what he was up to, then. Once he had stopped moving so much, she realized that his front side was still sliding down, but not at the right direction to her stomach. Instead, he seemed to be headed to the front of her body, moving ahead of her lungs through the fleshy tunnel. Nurta didn't even have any idea that there was such a split path inside of herself! Wherever the mysterious destination that the archaeopteryx was headed, it wasn't where food was supposed to go.

As the last of his tail stuck out of her mouth, the opposite end of Suugal was pushing against a sphincter - which she realized she could relax on will, so she did. Then, something in her body started to receive the dark-blue Urvogel, a chamber made of muscles. It must have been a crop of some kind, similar to a bird's, she reasoned. The organ ballooned with the prey being deposited into a ball of feathers, and she could feel a bulge start to form under her ribcage. Thankfully, the loose full-body dress that she normally wore covered it.

Finally, that flat tape of feathers that was Suugal's tail slid with the rest of his body down the throat. Swallowing him had been quite a strange sensation, but now that he was almost fully inside, she focused on the experience. Not only from having her newly-discovered anatomy being filled, but how his gasham felt different, too. It wasn't gone, but it was... manageable? It no longer felt like it could give her a headache, and the 'warmth' of Suu's gasham'sag surrounded her.

If she felt like this, outside, she couldn't even imagine how it must have felt for him, inside. Was it comfortable? Did he feel powerless? In fact, the atmosphere of closeness and intimacy, physical and extra-physical, felt extremely alluring, their shared draconic nature only enhancing it. She was surprised that she sensed another kind of heat, not from the gasham. A part of her she had kept dormant for ages, maybe even thought dead, and now- No. For everyone's sake, she would do her best to keep it under control. She always did.

Acutely aware of her insides, she could feel the last of the archaeopteryx now settle completely inside of her chamber, and he had curled onto himself to fit without taking too much space. Still, it didn't feel like she was bloated, and even if the bulge was barely perceptible under her dress, she could go about her day without worrying about him. With some curiosity, Nurta practiced moving the muscles of the crop, tossing Suugal around a bit. She had more control over it than she initially realized. In fact, it was strong enough to quickly expel its contents on demand, when it came to that; at least, there was an easy way to get the other dragon back out.

« Are you alright in there? Is it too tight? Are you sure this is safe? » The Widow tried to communicate to her passenger, and was somewhat surprised to hear a chirp through the flesh. She reasoned that he was fine. « Okay... We are really doing this. This feels so strange. I will you let you out once we are out of Kuir and no-one can see us. But until then, I will need you to be quiet and still. I don't even want to imagine what would happen if I lost control... »

At her request, Suugal stood completely still inside of her. « Actually, just... move a little bit every now and then, so I know that you're still fine. Having you freeze like a corpse is quite unsettling. » He pushed his head slightly against the wall of her crop. « Yes, that's good enough. »

She walked to her donkey, who had been lying down to sleep during all of this, still attached to Nurta's cart. "Wake up, Mugan. We need to go somewhere." As she had 'told' Suugal, there was one place in Kuir that she needed to go to; and afterwards, she would look for Nikili and Quince. The troublesome pair must have still been looking for their friend, not knowing that it would be a fruitless search, as his location was very clear to her. She rubbed her belly with one hand, the otherwise-noticeable bulge mostly hidden by her clothing, getting some tiny movement in return. How had Suugal even conceived of such an outlandish plan, or known so much about dragon anatomy? It was something she would have to ask him later, she figured.

The Widow led Mugan outside of the building, and climbed onto the seat. Nurta couldn't tell when she was inside, but now she saw that it was still the afternoon. Her wagon set off towards her next destination, and she joined the sea of people moving and talking in Kuir's roads. Suugal seemed undisturbed inside, so at least his plan to suppress his gasham'sag must have worked. As Nurta looked down at her torso, however, she did not pay attention to the small, yellow-furred pursuer who had spotted her in the crowd...