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Hejira: Sanguine Wave

By Mantrid Brizon

Episode 40: Proving Ground

Lying on her back in her own bed, Sarvah moans as she grips her lover. Grunting as he works, Gareth pushes his member deep within her. The intensity and pleasure of their carnal act is only matched by their passion, and dwarfed by their love for each other. Feeling herself racing over her peak, Sarvah’s orgasm, the third in their session, is all that he can stand. Burying himself within her until there’s nothing exposed, he releases his seed, letting it wash throughout her body. She trembles beneath her lover, their matted fur and musky bodies pressed together like two pieces of a puzzle.

“I love you, Sarvah. I’m so happy to be here with you.”

“I love you too, Gare. I’m never letting you go away again. Not without me.” She coos.

He looks at her lovingly and kisses her, nuzzling her snout with his own. Gareth’s feline tail sways through the air as he lay over the wolfess. Slowly withdrawing from her loins, they both tremble. Lying beside her in bed, he takes her into his arms and spoons with her. It’s all that either of them need to fall asleep.

“Gare...”

“Yeah?”

“What do you think will happen tomorrow when they find out you’re here?” She asks sheepishly.

“I don’t know...” He says before kissing her cheek. “But I’ll work it out. Trust me.”

Screaming as they run back into their homes, terrified children hide from the monster, the demonic figure from their little songs. Standing outside and beside Sarvah, who clutches his hand tightly, Gareth prepares for the worst. Vetra sits snuggly in the holster attached to his left hip. Having chosen to leave the home when many of the citizens were awake and moving about, they draw as much attention to themselves as possible. A crowd quickly gathers around them, both frightened and enraged.

The guards who were watching the gate during the night did not see Gareth; Sarvah snuck him in through the weak point near the smaller portion of the wall, by the cliffside. She distracted her own guards so that he could climb over undetected. Causing a considerable ruckus, even more citizens are drawn to whatever’s going on. A groggy Kelly opens his eyes, looking over to Vahna. Peering over the dainty, rabbit-like Sahvorai woman, he glances at the crib that contains their son, Zeike; he hasn’t awoken, thankfully.

Vahna awakens as he shifts, also curious as to the commotion outside. With Zeike passed out in his crib, the couple pull on their clothes and step outside. Kelly’s eyes grow wide as he sees Gareth standing two houses down, right beside Sarvah and in front of his chieftain’s home. Emma approaches from a distance, along with Claire and several other humans formerly of her tribe. Stepping outside and standing behind the couple, the transformed Naomi looks with amazement.

“Gary!” She calls out, racing over to him.

He cannot hear her over the cacophony of voices. Kelly races quickly after her, but Naomi is too swift for him. Slamming into and pushing through the crowd, the white furred she-wolf with long red hair finds herself standing only feet away from him.

“What are you doing here?!” A Sahvorai villager snarls.

“You’re a monster! Go away!” Another shouts.

“We were better off without you!” A human screams.

Though he doesn’t care for the villagers on a personal level, to be rejected by the people he’s protected, even after they threw him away, still hurts. Violently shoving a man out of her way, Naomi makes it to the front of the line. She charges Gareth, racing past Sarvah and leaping upon him. Startled, he nearly reaches for his weapon but Sarvah comfortingly grips his shoulder. Nuzzling his face, Naomi slides down from him and stares with her big, ruby red eyes. With a grin plastered across her face, she bears her sharp, pearly white teeth.

“Naomi?!” He asks in surprise.

Sarvah had warned him that she had returned the previous day, fully transformed. Though given a good description, and knowing it was her from her scent and the sound of her voice, he’s still taken aback. As beautiful as ever, if not moreso, he doesn’t recognize the face looking back at him. He briefly wonders if this is how everyone else felt when he first returned after his own transformation. Seeing the touching reunion between Gareth and his surrogate little sister doesn’t quell the crowd in the least.

“I missed you, Gary!” She exclaims.

“I’ve missed you too!” He says, reaching out and hugging her.

As the crowd closes in, a cobalt blue aura whips through the air and above their heads with a startling crack. Turning to Kelly, he now holds his katana machete, coated with his sling-blade. His chain-whip talent retracts into his palm, having successfully silenced the crowd and gaining their attention. Pointing the large, razor sharp blade at the crowd, they back away. Kelly approaches, while Vahna stands on their porch, holding their now awake son in her arms. Steve and Travahn push their way through, along with the strange new Sahvorai woman named Madina.

“Red Claw is back! Do something!” A woman yells at Kelly.

Madina’s eyes grow wide as she looks to the panther-like male. With amethyst colored eyes, he isn’t very frightening looking. In fact, she considers him to be quite handsome; he’s not the bloodthirsty demon that the rumors proport. She turns to Steve, who has a little grin across his face. The recognition in his eyes is clear for her to see. Travahn also has met him before and shows absolutely no fear or mistrust. The boy pushes further into the crowd to reach his girlfriend, Naomi.

“Alright!” Kelly says as he steps up to Gareth.

He glares at Gareth, who turns to face him. Exiting the crowd, and with Steve and Madina close behind him, Travahn stands beside Naomi and holds her hand, showing their solidarity.

“You’ve got a lot of explaining to do...” Kelly growls.

“Yeah!” A villager chirps.

“How could you leave me with these assholes for a year?! What’s wrong with you, bro?!” Kelly jovially demands.

Stepping forward, his sling-blade fades. Sheathing the katana machete, he takes hold of his friend in a long, tight embrace. The crowd is instantly silenced. It’s clear to them that their three most powerful talent users are united; Sarvah will never turn on her lover, Naomi embraced him as a brother, elated at his return, and Kelly is just as happy to have his best friend back home. Watching Claire from across the crowd, the only other talent user among them, she crosses her arms, also refusing to act.

“Hey, they ran me out of town. You could have come with me.” Gareth retorts.

“Yeah, but my house is nearly paid off and I have a new PlayStation; I couldn’t walk away from that kind of commitment.” Kelly quips.

“PlayStation? I thought her name was Vahna.” Gareth teases.

“Hah! It’s good to have you back!” Kelly grins.

The crowd begins to chatter and a random human man steps forward.

“How can you simply sit by and let him return?! He’s Red Claw!”

“He slaughters innocents!” Another declares.

“He’s not a monster! Can’t you find it in your hearts to forgive him?! He’s never endangered anyone here, nor would he!” Sarvah exclaims.

“How can you believe that after all he’s done?”

“You don’t truly know him; I know him. You know his reputation and his past misdeeds, but people can change, and he has. He’s nothing like your horrid little songs.” She insists.

“My talents are powerful. I could destroy this entire village if I wanted to; I’d eat you alive faster than a madrogo. That’s not what I want. I’m here because I love Sarvah, and because I care about the people who live here. I want to protect Wildwood. No Feather Finger or their allies should ever fear me. You have an army marching against you, bent on stealing your freedom and led by a bloodthirsty killer with powers as strong as mine, if not stronger. I’m not your enemy. In fact, I may be the only person who can save you.”

The villagers stand in frightened silence. They look around at their peers. Everyone with sway in the village and with talents either supports Gareth outright or stands down; the Feather Fingers are left with little choice but to accept him back. It’s difficult for them to accept powerlessness; though they still mistrust him, there’s nothing they can do.

“Alright, nothing to see here! Go about your day!” Sarvah growls.

The villagers slowly depart, the angry mob disintegrating like sugar in water. Standing near the back of what was once a large crowd, the leaders of the various tribes watch on. Sarvah walks past the others and towards the dignitaries, at first followed by Gareth. Madina steps up to him, stopping him in his tracks and separating him from Sarvah.

“So, you’re Gary. I’m Madina.” She says.

“Gare?” Sarvah turns around.

“Hello, Madina. May I help you with something?”

“I need to speak to you as soon as you’re able. It’s very important.” She replies.

Glancing over to Sarvah, she smiles and nods her head.

“We’ll speak to her together after we’re done here. It is very important.” Sarvah says to her lover.

“Alright. If you’d like to follow along, you can wait for a little while, and then we’ll talk.” Gareth says to Madina.

Madina nods in acceptance and quickly trails him as he joins Sarvah and her guests. Returning to the field near the cliffs, the furthest spot from the front gate, they stand around the resin coated stump to resume their talks. Before a productive word can be uttered, one of the dignitaries speaks, overcome with curiosity.

“Why are you here? Why are you helping us?” The human woman leading Goldenrod asks.

“I already answered this question... Because I love Sarvah, and I care about what happens to the Feather Fingers and their allies.” Gareth replies.

“But the Feather Fingers and their allies have humans among them, and you hate humans.” The black cat of Iron Lion says.

“Me wife is a human.” The tiger-like man leading Sightless Eye remarks.

“I don’t hate humans. I used to be one.” Gareth retorts.

“Then why did you do what you did?” The black rabbit of Crooked Trees wonders.

“I... Lost myself.” Gareth lowers his head. “I was simply overcome by blind rage; It was wrong and I regret every life I stole, but it was never who I truly was.”

Sarvah takes his hand in hers, giving him an assuring squeeze. Turning toward the dignitaries, she narrows her icy blue eyes.

“Well... Now that nonsense is out of the way, can we accomplish something?”

Resuming the talks that they’d paused the previous day, they speak about their battle strategy in greater detail. Madina watches in the background, soon joined by a curious Steve, as well as Naomi and Travahn. Though uneasy about having Gareth around, the chieftains of the various tribes continue unimpeded. To their pleasant surprise, Gareth reveals not only a thorough understanding of battle tactics, well beyond that of many of the chieftains themselves, but also a willingness to take command for them, something that he promised Sarvah he’d do for her.

With the tall Madina peaking over their shoulders, they mark out their plans on a map. After nearly two hours of deliberating, the leaders of the allied tribes agree to follow through and hold the lines. Furthermore, all of the chieftains agree to continue to reach out to more tribes even further south and east, hoping to unite the solitary continent and her denizens against the kingdom. With ECTO founded and a plan in place, many feel a sense of confidence; seeing the zeal in him as prepares the defenses of the alliance, few now fear ‘Red Claw’.

As he and Sarvah both stated earlier, he’s not an enemy but the most powerful ally they can hope for. Agreeing to the alliance and their plans in total, the six chieftains celebrate with a ceremonial toast of wine. Now ready to depart Wildwood, the other chieftains return to the town proper to collect their families and head for their homes. As they walk away, Sarvah sets down the silver chalice she’d used for the toast, turning to Gareth and embracing him.

“I’m so happy you’re here.” She coos, nuzzling him.

“I am too. I’ve missed you so much.” He says, softly scratching her back.

“I’ve missed you too. I know you hurt as much as I did to be apart, but you can’t imagine the pressure I’ve been under, ruling all alone. So many times I nearly collapsed, and every time I saw you, you’d build me back up and make me strong. I hate to put pressure on you, and I do regret it, but at the same time it makes me happy that you’re so willing to stand before me; I’ve never had a man who could carry me on his back while also fighting my battles.”

“Well, that’s because I love you thiiiis much.” He says in a jovial and childish tone, holding out his arms wide.

Giggling at his trademark humor, Sarvah leans against him and kisses him. Naomi and Travahn find themselves touched by the scene; Gareth and Sarvah share an emotional bond that’s as deep as theirs, if not deeper. Steve glances over to Madina, who watches with wide eyes. With hands clutched together before her, she has a pleased smile on her face. It’s as though she were watching a romance on television, finding herself enveloped by the emotions of the couple standing before her.

Though she hates to do it, Madina steps forward and clears her throat. They turn their heads to her, their arms still wrapped tightly around each other.

“So, about that important talk...”