An Age of Mysterious Memories

Hastily jogging into the warrens, to keep anyone from getting hurt by mite-pistol-turrets, or kraken-tentacles, I see that there’s absolutely no need. Lucky’s blocking every single attack that might head towards Pidge or Trixxie. He’s—. The goober is showing off. He wanted to show off, and maybe score brownie points for protecting them. I slam my head into the nearest wall, not quite as softly as I’d liked to have. Ow. Facepalming, I await a moment when Lucky stops goofing off, while I cast a dubious glance his way. My son catches my glance, but seems all the happier for my attention, his tail wagging.

Despite panting, and his tongue hanging out derpily, Lucky seems to smile, happy to see me to show off to me as well. He suddenly, and very quickly, clears out all the hostiles in the warrens with a combination of abilities and magic items. I can’t even pretend to be mad at him. It was impressive. Walking up to Lucky, I roughhouse with him and kiss his snoot repeatedly for only a few moments. Weirdest parent-child relationship ever. A recently-Fel-bodied Changeling Fae and their Hunter Hound-Cragbeast-Dragon-Valkyrie-Otter-Fae hybrid pup.

A bit more demanding than I mean to be, I order, “Trixxie, Pidge, I’ll be setting up psychic networks, Lucky trusts you enough to want you around. We had a shapeshifter infiltrate last night and act this morning. Powerful Latent, not just any dragon. I’m pretty sure it’s a member of the Evil Claws. I’m guessing Harlequin, Lovelace, Laughing Drakk, or Butterfly. My money’s on the former. Anything you can tell me Pidge?”

Blinking, Pidge scratches his chin with thumb and index finger before responding, “I do think that sounds like Harle. Most of us haven’t used our Latents in ages, what with fighting under the Damnations never really needing to fight.”

My jaw drops as I hear the nickname for Harlequin that matches a pronunciation I heard last night on the aerie. I gasp, “Harle, like, Harrelk?”

Pidge nods for a moment in thought, rather than agreement, but then seems to alight on a memory before exclaiming, “Yeah, yeah I do think that’s Harle’s name, before we all got titled and started going by them. Long, long time ago now. Memory’s fuzzy on some things for some reason too, beyond just age. Not sure why that is.”

Facepalming, I ask, “Were any of the other twelve ancients that were consorts any of the Evil Claws? Did you *know* Harrelk was Harlequin?’

Scratching his head, furrowing his brow, and frowning, Pidge shakes his head while responding, “No, no I don’t think so. If anything, Harle probably wasn’t even one of that Red’s consorts. Likely slit their throat, imbibed, and took their place. Maybe. Not sure. Don’t really know the other Claws’ private lives. Could have been his or her real identity maybe.”

Growling to myself, I send my mind reaching out for Kinzul’s, but sense she’s nowhere to be found within Solace. Crap, really? At a time like this, my love? Friggin’ hell. I don’t think Pidge is playing me here. Oddly enough. My genre senses have swung from eighty percent odds it being Shlendtikuar, to ninety five percent odds that it’s Harrelk. I need to find the ancient consorts, and I need to find Shlendtikuar, or Shlend’s body. I’m worried that Harrelk might have been planning a longer game, and killed Shlen in order to pin the blame on him, insinuating the culprit escaped, and then be able to remain here as Harrelk for a while.

One of the strategists-eight hearing my thoughts, connects to me from the security center, and offers up, “Eleven ancient consorts in the feasting hall, having more than a grand old time on your resources and wine Schism. Lazy old bloaters are living it up. No sign of Shlen. Doubt there’s any reason for the twelve not to stick together and gorge. I’d say you’re on the money. I’ve got volunteers out looking for signs of a fight, or bodies right now.”

Bodies. Plural. Oh god. Alanea. I drop everything and spin around to rush towards Mount Solace with tears streaming behind me. Lucky shapeshifts, picks up Trixxie and Pidge in his mouth, and nudges me up onto his skull with his snoot while dashing my way. I land in a fold of armor on his back, and reach out with my telekinetic grips to catch Trixxie and Pidge when Lucky tosses them up over his head back towards me, still dashing the whole time. I love you Lucky. Thank you.

We tear up the tunnels of Mount Solace towards the infirmary. Kagired’s alive, in bed, healing, still roughed up bad, but I can tell he’s healing. I think all of the Draconiac Spellknights other than Zelshiz are here, even the non wounded ones are just sitting or sleeping next to their wounded comrades, on gurneys or stretchers or infirmary beds or whatever. I don’t see Alanea though. Leaping off of Lucky, I point towards one hallway past the infirmary, while I check another.

A few moments later, I find Alanea in bed, in a room that might have been Kagired’s. She’s so still, that for a moment, fear drives its chilly claws into my heart like five icy daggers. I rush to her side, and she turns towards the sound of my approach, to reach out a hand towards my face. I hadn’t meant to be doing this, just to check that she’s alright.

Sinking into her embrace, and kiss, I weep softly for a bit before explaining to Alanea what’s been happening. As I’m drawing ragged, sobbed breaths, Alanea, while looking terrified shakes her head several times to collect her thoughts. Wearing a fierce expression for a few moments, Alanea seems deep in thought before something sets her upon a resolution.

Alanea locks gazes with me, and firmly nods once before stating, “Well, it’s, it’s not unlike what we were already dealing with. In, well, the Enclave, we had to be on the lookout for people who weren’t themselves. I know it’s, well, not quite the same, but, well, you get it, right dearling?”

Taking a few moments to collect myself as Alanea strokes my hair, and horns, I blush a bit, both at my own overreaction, and the strange tingle I get when she strokes my horns. Nodding, I kiss her softly before responding, “You’re right. You’re right. If you can think of any ways the Enclave acts to help keep this sort of thing from turning disastrous, please let any of us know. I want you protected by someone at all times. Maybe have Lucky and his pals stay with you until I’m sure we’ve got this matter settled.”

Glancing down the hallway, I see Lucky trotting towards us, still carrying Pidge and Trixxie on his back, his tail wagging now that he knows I’m no longer distressed. He’s got his two new friends essentially held hostage, so they’re going to learn to like him whether they like it or not, it seems. Heh. I wonder if I should try to have a talk with him about that? Then again, I need him to keep an eye on them, since they were enemies only a day ago. I’ll try to put more thought into that later when I’ve got some time to figure out this whole parenting thing. Yeesh. Reggie Shellcracker, trying to do parenting. There’s a catastrophe waiting to happen.

As Lucky sits in the doorway to this dragon-sized bedroom, I motion towards him while announcing him to Alanea, “Here’s Lucky now. Is what I suggested to Alanea okay boy? Can you watch after my dearling as well as your two new friends?”

When Lucky whuffs happily while wagging his tail, I hug him tightly about his snout whispering, “Thank you boy, thank you Lucky. You’re so good. You’re so good. I love you so much.”

My ears have popped from the stress, anxiety, adrenaline and rushing around different elevations repeatedly. Seething at the impostor for endangering Pawn, threatening her, using Illy’s face against me, causing Prinrin to have to play a horrible, horrible part—. Cool it Reggie. We can also probably just say Harrelk at this point. I just need a few data points from Kinzul for confirmation. I’m betting the bastard really does have an identity as Harrelk. And maybe even maintained it most of the time, only becoming Harlequin when the Damnations had need of him in battle, or that he had to report to them, or Terrorzin.

Mumbling to the three other than Lucky, I ramble, “I, I need you all down in Mount Verdimenn, and all the patients other than Kagired too. We need to start getting you all set up for psychic links, telepathy, so that this can’t happen again. I’m going to be at it all day, or at least a couple of hours. I’m so lightheaded, and dizzy. Harrelk got me so bad. I almost lost my mind. I almost retreated into a void that I might not have come back from. Pidge, did you know of any plan like this, or any other plans by the Damnations?”

Shaking his head, Pidge responds, “Haven’t been called to duty for a long time. I’m usually one of the last ones called. Was odd to be called in, honestly. I think I’ve been hibernating for, hm, years? Decades? Not sure. Then there’s that weird fuzzy feeling in my memories too. Anyway, my Latent isn’t especially useful. It just sort of generally, well, it’s a bit embarrassing.”

My raised brow prompts Pidge to explain, “Well, I don’t exactly have totally a hundred percent full control of it, in that I can’t shut it all the way down. It’s not dangerous though. Maybe? Well, I can boost it, but I’ve seen no need to, and done no such thing in a very, very long time. It’s never really been much of a battle changer. Doesn’t do much worth mentioning at all.”

For the umpteenth time recently, I begin ramming my forehead into a wall, and once again, not quite as softly as I’d like. I’m exaggerating when I call it ramming, I’m just dropping my head at an angle against it lightly, but it still smarts.

Sighing, I express my gratitude, “Thank you for keeping it that way. So what you’re saying is, if something weird happens, it might be your Latent, but you wouldn’t have meant it to cause any harm. Can knocking you out stop it? Does it stay when you’re asleep? Not sure how you’d know that. I don’t want to have to slay you if it goes rampantly out of control.”

Lucky frowns at me, while Trixxie’s eyes widen in frightened shock. Pidge holds his hands up, palms forward placatingly, before answering, “No idea about sleeping or being knocked out, like you said. If that becomes an issue, you could confine me in the other mountain, or in a prison, it’s only a couple hundred meters in range at the very most, and much weaker the further out from me, which is saying something, with how weak I keep it already.’

I guess as long as it’s at it’s lowest setting, and he’s mostly in places like the edges of battles, or the project space at Verdimenn, I suppose it’ll be mostly fine. Lucky, it’ll be your duty to keep Pidge away from people if Pidge or other people start acting weird all of a sudden, alright? I know you already understand boy, but I just need to make sure it’s said. Or, well, telepathically said, thought. I don’t want it haunting me later worrying if anyone has an eye on Pidge and has this situation handled. He seems to be your new friend, along with Trixxie, so just take care of them, okay? I love you Lucky.

Lucky offers a sharp bark affirmatively, and nods my way while panting, before scratching himself behind his ears with his rear paws. Or maybe his talons? Or his claws? I never know what to call Lucky’s appendages or bodyparts, since he’s such an amalgamation of creatures, his own unique species, and a shapeshifter to boot. Lucky seems to almost be snickering at my mental monologue and my confusion. In fact, I’m pretty certain he is. I flash him a wry smirk and roll my eyes, but spend several moments roughhousing with him as our mental avatars in thinkspace.

Glancing over towards Alanea, I notice that her breathing has become a bit quickened. Her pulse is racing, and there’s certain beads of sweat trickling down her neck that are usually only evident when—. Ahem, koff. Right. Alanea furiously blushes when our gazes meet, but she can’t help licking her lips to wet them. Sighing, I rattle my skull. Just one more weird as hell little wrinkle to plan around, but thankfully it’s not one that changes any outcomes I can think of at the moment.

Turning to kiss Alanea, the passion of the moment catches us both off guard, and we end up blinking in surprise, wide-eyed, aware of our audience. Color drains from my cheeks, leaving me ashen momentarily, before it comes rushing back with the heat of a thousand suns. I’d meant to just kiss her a short farewell, then head back to Mount Verdimenn to continue setting things up.

Rattling my skull, I take a moment to sigh, hoping to release the wave of embarrassment that just hit. The wave that was caused when my relief about Alanea’s well-being got the better of me. We both know I care. Erm, well, at this point, everyone in this room knows I care. While there’s a bit of coughing and throat clearing from Pidge and Trixxie who both rub the back of their heads and pretend to at least attempt to avert their gazes, I’m grateful for their, erm— tact.

I need to take a few moments to think some things through. So much has happened in what I think has been less than an hour since I woke up, it’s still unreasonably early in the morning. Waking up to Te sneaking off wasn’t that unusual. Being chastised by Lu and Kinzul hurt, but it had to happen. That really wasn’t much time at all, and, despite me trying to take their words to heart, it probably didn’t change the course of my day at all.

Being slapped by Prinrin as she played along with Harlequin in order to get Pawn out of the grasp of the Evil Claw was a huge blow to my heart, but we’re past it. I nearly slipped over the edge of my own sanity when I realized some being, some creature, was wearing a face of someone I love, to mess with me. Again! The very thing that sent me spiraling into the abyss of my own mind for months on end early in my life on Can’Z’aas. Once I staggered away from the precipice, we were all rushing into a flurry to find the shapeshifter. We were attempting to kill or contain them, but ended up chasing them out of Mount Solace. Then I started putting newer measures in place to prevent anything like that from ever being able to happen again. All in so short a time.

Gods, Lil is probably huffing and puffing his brains out with how much fire I asked him to fill the corridor with for as long as I asked him to, and he’s probably glassed the whole entry tunnel smooth. Hah. I hadn’t thought about that when I’d asked him to do it. We might be able to use -that- to our advantage too, against siege. Hm, yes, electrification of Solace, traps, siege prep, and so much more. Good, keep these ideas in mind Reggie Shellcracker. You need to keep your mind focused on things to accomplish. Use that drive to move past this morning.

Okay, enough screwing around. My Backpotter form is almost here. I issue a few warnings, and instructions, to Lucky, Alanea, Pidge, and Trixxie. With that out of the way, I TK Surf my way back towards Mount Verdimenn.