48- The Oblivious Decanus

  8/2/5/4353 M.A.C - Road to Muchiri - Ashrama - Afternoon

  "So...not bad ey?"

  Arctic's butt was sore from the ride, and he'd found the speed rather unimpressive. Had he looked at the ground instead of the horizon, he might have been more impressed, but the jostle of a riding goat at a gallop made focusing on any one point a more difficult task than one might think.

  Decanus Arjun strained his neck to try and read Arctic's answer and smiled at the young monkey.

  "Yeah. Super fast. So great."

  Big Sis and his friends already messed with him a bit too much earlier, he needs a win.

  "Let's just go a bit slower, though; all that jumping up and down is making my stomach feel weird."

  "Don't worry kiddo, these guys don't like going fast for long distances anyway."

  A riding goat made for a good mount in rugged terrain, and could sustain brisk trots about as well as a hardy poney, but purebred horses they were not. Their gait made the ride smoother than a horse's at low speed, but their version of a gallop was closer to a series of vigorous arching bounds than a run.

  "Your sister is looking a bit awkward up there. You sure she is fine?"

  "She often acts before she thinks. I've seen her practice a lot back at the village, but not much after she got her arms. She probably didn't even think about switching back to her armless form before going out."

  "Ah...So those arms are part of an Ability. Just thought she was some sort of strange bird spirit beast."

  Arctic gave the decanus a dubious stare as he questioned the man's intellectual capacity.

  "You think that there are birds out there that are just born with a pair of perfectly human arms? Skin and all?"

  "Why not? The world is big and filled with strange stuff."

  I guess he's seen more of the world than I have...Is my point of view limited by having only ever been in the forest? Now that it is just the two of us, I must pick up some slack. Big Sis has some strange ideas, and if I don't watch out for her, she'll end up getting herself in trouble sooner or later.

  Arctic shrugged and decided to give Arjun a pass until he learned more about the world outside the forest.

  "If we aren't going to go fast anymore, should I get in front of you? Your back is blocking most of the view, and you might hurt your neck if you continue looking back at me to talk."

  Decanus Arjun nodded and brought his goat to a stop. As the pair started trading places, Emi swooped down and came for a landing a few feet away, the beating of her large wings picking up debris as they sent gusts or air toward the ground.

  "How's it going, boys?"

  "Hey Sis! How was the flying? We decided to take it slow from now on. I don't think either the goat or I could survive those speeds the rest of the way."

  "The open sky was pretty great. I feel like I could stay up there for hours just riding the wind. I need to learn how to read the air currents better, though; I was nearly sent tumbling by a few stray gusts."

  "Oh, that's what it was. I thought your arms were getting in the way of your balance."

  "Maybe a little of that too. The main difference I feel when flying in this form is that my gliding position feels less natural and strains my muscles a bit more. Without them, I think I could spend most of a day up there without having to land. With them, I'll probably need to land and take a break every few hours."

  "Ever thought about joining the Free Legion? I'm sure you'd do well as a scout."

  "Yeah...nope. Got other fish to fry. Maybe one day, but I doubt it. Not really my style, to be honest."

  Something seemed to be gnawing at the back of Emi's mind as she answered, her attention somewhat divided.

  "I'm going back up! You two take it easy, I'll circle about and keep pace with you. Just make sure we get there before sundown."

  Emi took a running start and beat her large wings down with force, again and again, until her talons lifted off from the ground. A few more wingbeats and Emi managed to latch onto an air current, and she spread her wings out to let the wind fill them like billowing sails, letting them propel her onward and upward.

  "Not gonna lie, that was pretty cool!"

  Arctic looked up at Decanus Arjun and gave him a large smile.

  "Yeah, Big Sis is the coolest!"

  "What about me?"

  Decanus Arjun maintained eye contact with a squirming Arctic until he answered.

  "You? Top 10 coolest humans I met!"

  "Top 10 huh? I'll take that!"

  The decanus seemed pleased at what he took as praise. Luckily, he did not have any mind reading Abilities because Arctic's thoughts might have irredeemably damaged his ego.

  Well, the tenth coolest human I've met also means the fifth lamest...but he doesn't need to know that. Also, it doesn't help that there are only some below him because I've barely heard them speak yet...

  Arctic looked back at the few members of the contubernium that hadn't felt the need to put some distance between them and their decanus and shrugged.

  The next couple hours of their journey went by without incident until Emi went for an unexpected dive and landed in front of the others.

  "Guys! I can see the town from up there! We're nearly there!"

  ***

  "Oy! You see that up there?"

  One of the two guards pointed up at a distant patch of sky.

  "Yup. Must be pretty huge if we can see it from here. Think it is headed our way?"

  The other guard responded as he used one of his hands to shield his eyes from the sun.

  "Looks like it. Keep your crossbow at the ready in case it is hostile; I'll get the spyglass out."

  The guard went into the guardhouse and returned with a conical two-piece metal tube with glass lenses at either end, and put it up to his eyes.

  "Must be at least seven or eight feet tall, over fifteen wide. I'm focused in at a mile and it is still blurry."

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  The guard adjusted the focus by sliding the front end of the tube further out and then let out a chuckle.

  "Heh, it's got good eyes too!"

  "Why'd you say that?"

  "I think it saw you are aiming at it and is waving in our direction in a panic. Not sure why, but when I look at it I can clearly feal its fear, and the words "don't shoot" pop in my mind."

  The guard wielding the crossbow seemed confused by his colleague's reconnaissance.

  "What do you mean waving? Wouldn't it drop out of the sky if it stopped using its wings to fly?"

  The guard with the crossbow just chuckled again and brought the spyglass to the other man's eye.

  "What the...?"

  ***

  "Hey Arjun, is that weird bird with you?"

  The group had finally reached the walls of Muchiri, but Emi and Arctic were both speechless. The walls seemed to be made of some sort of hardened dirt or clay and rose fairly high, but that wasn't what had impressed the pair. Every inch of the wall was painted with an extensive mural depicting many scenes of colorful people, creatures, and places. When they were still a few hundred feet away, it had seemed as if the design was one large mosaic, but as they had gotten closer, each square that made it up turned out to be an entirely separate work of art.

  "Yeah, don't mind her or the forest guardian, they aren't hostile. Give them a moment; it is their first time here, and I think the wall overwhelmed them a little."

  After a few seconds of silence, Emi seemed to realize the attention was on her, and she stepped forward with her hand outstretched, her sigil displayed.

  "Hello, my name is Emi Majusculus. This little guy is my little brother, Arctic Majusculus. Nice to meet you; thanks for not shooting at me."

  The two guards chuckled at the relief that seeped through the second half of her greetings.

  "You guys shouldn't laugh. If you'd taken a shot, you might have ended up regretting it. This owl is known as the spear-"

  Decanus Arjun's mouth kept moving, but no sound came out. He looked confused at first, but then concern came into play and he started to panic.

  "Yeah, I don't think Big Sis is going to let you finish that sentence."

  Upon realizing that Emi was blocking his words, Arjun dashed a few dozen feet and shouted the end of his sentence toward the gate.

  "What is he doing?"

  Arctic laughed and answered the guard's question.

  "Big Sis can control the sound around her. He ran out of the area until he could hear himself speak and thought he'd got the best of her."

  "But we still can't hear him, so why is he smiling like he won?"

  Emi decided to answer this time, her exasperation toward the decanus clearly being conveyed.

  "Since he can hear himself talk, he thinks he beat me. The fool doesn't realize that since you are all in my zone, I can just stop his voice from entering it, and no one can hear him. You guys just see his smile, I can see his whole aura brimming with satisfaction..."

  "Go easy on him Big Sis. He might be a bit of an idiot, but I like him."

  Arctic jogged to the decanus and exchanged a few words with him, the man's smile turning into a frown.

  "I'll let you back into the conversation if you stop trying to say dumb shit."

  Arjun looked like he was about to argue, but then he noticed a message scrawled across Arctic's chest, hidden from Emi's view.

  "Just say yes for now, you can run your mouth off as much as you want after we split up."

  Decanus Arjun seemed conflicted by this proposition, judging by the awkward expression on his face, but he seemed to make up his mind after a few seconds and nodded before walking back to the gate.

  "Not much traffic, though? I'd thought there would be more people at the gate of such a big town."

  The two guards chuckled and pointed in the direction from which the travelers had come.

  "This is the West Gate. There are only a couple of small villages and the Great Forest in that direction. We deal with a handful of villagers a day and sometimes a traveling merchant or two. We also get the odd contubernium passing through on their way out to the Great Forest, but that still doesn't make for a lot of traffic. Let us log you into the books and you can be on your way."

  "Thank you. By the way, I have this letter of introduction I am supposed to deliver at the Muchiri Ashram, could you give us directions."

  The guards, Arjun, and the members of his contubernium that were present all started laughing heartily.

  "Oh my, Arjun. You really brought us some fresh ones!"

  Why are they finding this so funny? Did Big Sis say something dumb?

  Emi and Arctic glanced at each other, their confusion apparent.

  "Sorry, sorry. You must not have been around much. The ashrams are always at the center of towns and cities in Ashrama. In fact, every city and town started as a single ashram. As ashrams grow and people come to live under their guidance, towns develop around them."

  "Yeah, if you want to find an ashram, just head toward the center point of a town and look for the fanciest building. Hard to go wrong."

  Arctic now understood why Emi's questions had caused such a raucous reaction, but Emi seemed undeterred and unwilling to admit defeat.

  "No, I mean like actual direction, like go straight then take a left kind of thing."

  One guard suddenly put on a serious expression as he answered as professionally as he could.

  "Well, you go straight, then..."

  The other guard continued the sentence after his colleague paused.

  "You keep going straight, then..."

  Oh no! I think I see where this is going, and Big Sis is getting owned.

  Arjun decided to chip in and nail the final proverbial nail into the coffin.

  "You go straight some more. If you hit the wall on the other side of town, you'll have gone twice the distance you needed, so just retrace your steps."

  The trio of unfunny men shared another laugh as Arctic felt pity for his big sister, who was not taking the joke too well. Reading Emi's facial expression was difficult as aside from her eyes and beak, her face was entirely covered in feathers. Still, over the last few decans, Arctic had learned how to read the changes in Emi's eyes; her constricting pupils and unwavering glare told him that anger was seething under the surface and that his sister was probably thinking of a way to get even. Arctic slipped himself between Emi and the three men and displayed a message on his back for her to see.

  "Calm down Big Sis. You already got Arjun pretty good a couple of times earlier. If you keep prodding at him too hard, he might break one way or another. You don't want the guards to make it difficult for us to enter the town right?"

  Emi visibly deflated, Arctic's effort having evidently managed to bring her tension down enough for her reason to take over.

  Big Sis isn't dumb, she just gets carried away sometimes. I'll be there to look out for her when it happens.

  As the guards filled in the paperwork, Arctic looked back at the last few decans of his life, and he could hardly believe what he saw. A month prior, he felt alone in a stuffy world where a sea of trees was his jail cell and his tribe his jailers. Now? He and Sun Hanukong had not only begun making up; they had grown to respect one another after fighting together in a life-and-death situation. His grandfather had openly acknowledged his talent and set him on the road of body-tempering ahead of schedule. Looking back though, the most miraculous of the changes to his life had to be Emi.

  Emi had come into his miserable life, and she'd risked the only modicum of safety she had found in this strange and dangerous world to champion his cause. In a mere matter of decans, her presence and actions had led to all the other positive changes that had come about and he was well aware of it.

  Don't worry Big Sis. No matter what happens, I'll stick by you and support you!

  ***

  "Alright, this is where we split up. We need to go this way for the Free Legion HQ. If you need me, go there and ask for me. We should be around Muchiri for a decan or two before we pick up another assignment. Need me to give you the directions to the ashram again?"

  Emi let out a long sigh as she looked down at the decanus as if he were a cockroach that had just crawled out from its hiding spot.

  "Don't worry; this joke was so great that I've enough a fill of your humor to last me a few months, if not years. Although we met under less than ideal circumstances, I am glad to part from you in good health."

  Arjun started to smile as he turned around and left with his head high. Emi then turned to Arctic and whispered into his ear.

  "See, I figured out what pisses me off about him, and how to deal with it. He is so confident in himself and that he knows what you are going to say, that he only half listens to what you say. As long as you use words that sound right, you can diss him like this, and he won't even clock it."

  Damn that's cold. She openly called his joke crap and said she was happy to part from him, yet he heard the opposite.

  As Decanus Arjun put some distance between him and Emi and rejoined his contubernium, Emi picked up on one last idiotic boast.

  "Just wait and see. She'll come seek me out, I think she has a thing for me."

  Emi looked like she was about to start marching toward him to give the back of his head a good smack, but the pained expressions of pity on the other legionnaires' faces seemed to diffuse her anger.

  "Please don't grow up to be like him Arctic. This man is one of the greatest fools I've met. In Either life."

  "Don't tell him that, all he'll hear is that he is the greatest."

  The pair started laughing so hard that Emi had to wipe the tears away while Arctic let them run down his face as he cackled at his joke.

  ***

  Arjun gave one last look at the pair, hoping to see sad faces, or even a few tears. What he saw made his heart grow warm. The Owl Lady was covering her face andslouching over forward while his new young monkey friend seemed to be bawling his eyes out openly.

  A good deed is its own reward! Since they seem to like us so much, guess I'll try recruiting them again at least once more before they leave.

  The other present members of the contubernium looked at their Decanus with growing pity in their eyes. His delusions safe and sound, Arjun went down the road to the HQ to report on one of the safest assignments he'd had in a long time.

  "I still can't believe Arjun is over three hundred years old and still looks and acts like such a child."

  "He rarely speaks about it, but he fought in the liberation of Brihon. Even though he is a liability most of the time, Arjun is actually a badass when the moment comes."

  "He'd better be; his level is somewhere in the forties. He's double most of our other members' level, not that you'd guess from his attitude."

  Three of the contubernium's members that were following behind exchanged strangely phrased sentences that might sound like praise if one was not paying attention and was a master of selective listening.

  "Stop it, guys; It's not Arjun's fault he has an Ability that messes up his capacity to face reality; He must have been through some tough shit if he needed an Ability like that to survive. Even though I'm the one who let you in on the trick, let's not be asses about it."

  Although these exchanges were within Arjun's earshot, only certain words seemed to register in his ears, his back straightening with pride from the praise he believed to have overheard.