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AR Chapter 365
🕑 Added 2025-04-12 04:00:14 +0000 UTCIn a small building I’d neglected to pay any attention to, the walls and roof had been completely restored. Inside the building, a small male keelish leaned against a fireplace. A flame guttered in the hearth, and the male I didn’t recognize absentmindedly nodded as I walked in. He continued to stoke the flame and place another couple of branches in the flames. A mere moment later, he realized that I wasn’t just a visitor but was, in fact, the Zaaktif, and he stood to attention. Though he was impressive as far as a keelish went, he was no more than five feet tall and I was twice his height.
“Alpha, er, Zaaktif. Hello and welcome to the nursery. How can I help?”
I nodded appreciatively. “I can see you’re dedicated to this post. I only recognize your face, remind me of your name?”
“Hrackt.” He bowed as he gave his name. “I was a member of the first swarm that you subjugated in the Indlovu Plains.”
I leaned down and placed a hand on his shoulder. His eyes widened as I grew close and I cocked my head. [Evolutionary Exemplar] guided my thoughts, and I smiled.
“You’re exactly where you need to be. I’d guess that Vefir has been teaching you somewhat?”
“When I’m not here, I’m with him, yes.” Hrackt flared his frills. “Was there something else you wanted me to be doing?”
“No. I just feel that you’re well-suited to caring for the eggs. Did you do that before I pulled you and your swarm away from your den?”
Hrackt’s tail flicked back and forth. “Not as much. I enjoyed helping the hatchlings,” he explained, “but I don’t think I quite realized how important tending to the eggs was. The females would lay them, and then, weeks later, they would hatch. I enjoyed taking care of the little ones, but… my mind wasn’t quite the same then.”
“You’ve gotten smarter.” I supplied. “Well, thank you for tending to the eggs. I’m sure there’s a rotation of keelish that tends the fire here to ensure that they stay warm enough?”
“Yes. I take this time until evening, usually. I’m told that the keelish that have lived in the trees have a different way to keep the eggs warm with heaps of rotting vegetation, but this has worked for us so far. Vefir or Sakkit come by daily and make sure that they’re still alive.” Then, looking back and forth between me and Sybil, Hrackt’s mouth opened briefly. “I’m sorry, I can step out if you wish to lay in privacy.”
“That will not be necessary, though I offer my thanks.” Sybil answered. “It will be a few weeks yet before my eggs are ready to be laid, and I suspect I may be more… broody than most keelish.”
“Of course.” Hrackt’s face was joyous and not at all offended. “The first Keel eggs in the Empire, and they are from the Zaaktif and Zaaktifi? A blessing indeed. But…” He trailed off. “If you’re not here to lay, why are you here? Am I needed elsewhere?”
“No,” I answered, “there’s just something I can do here, and I’ll probably visit here daily.” Though the egg tender’s face showed how he wanted to ask clarifying questions, he said nothing. Instead, I walked forward and gathered my magic in my throat. Though I’d known it, it was impressive how quickly my soliphon could refill itself ever since its evolution to [Perpetual Sonilphon]. As my magic grew to its critical point, I let out an earth-vibrating hum. The [Skill] fought to fill the air, but I controlled the sound waves to instead fall unnaturally to the ground. The vibrations tickled my [Tremorsense], but I continued to push it out until my magical reserves ran dry. For a moment, I drew on [Spear of the Many] to try to garner more power to continue bolstering the fetuses still in the eggs, but it didn’t do anything.
With a sigh, I let the [Skill] die. It petered off and I took a deep breath. As air rushed to fill my lungs, Hrackt looked up at me with awe.
“I… don’t have the same sense for life that Vefir does, but I know that helped them quite a bit. What… what is that?”
“One of my responsibilities as Zaaktif.” I replied with a chuckle. “Making sure that the little ones grow strong.”
“Thank you.” Hrackt said, bowing his head. The genuine, honest gratitude he showed almost made me uncomfortable, but it further cemented in my mind how he was exactly where he needed to be.
“Truly, no need to thank me. These little ones are our future, and it’s my responsibility to ensure that they’re all given their greatest possibility for success and strength in the future.”
The keelish didn’t respond, simply continuing to stay in the respectful bow. I patted his back as Sybil and I walked out. My mate spoke to him as we left.
“You have done well. I know that the others share your same passion and love for the little ones, so I am glad that the Zaaktif has returned to help you. Please let Yamal or one of her subordinates know if there is anything that the Zaaktif needs to be apprised of.”
We walked out of the nursery and straight into Vefir. The conversation that followed was short and resulted in a promise to tell him and Shemira more about Tala. Then, with Sybil guiding me, we walked through the city, seeing everything that needed work done on it and, at the end of the day, we returned to our little hovel and ate day-old ant carcass before retiring to rest. I purposefully backed Sybil against the wall in the hopes that it would keep her from waking up earlier than me and leaving me behind.
***
When Sybil woke me up in the middle of the night, adrenaline spiked through me and I looked everywhere. Before I could resume panicking, she sighed and my mind understood that I was overreacting, though why I wasn’t sure.
“What?” I asked, my second eyelids working hard to clear the sleep from my eyes.
“I simply need to relieve myself. The eggs are rather large and take space that would otherwise be put to use being willing to wait until morning.”
I chuckled and stepped away from the bed, allowing Sybil to extricate herself. She stepped out of the house, and I had half a mind to lay back down and fall back asleep. Instead, I gave her enough space to not feel like I was merely following her, and then walked out. The cold air struck me, my scales subconsciously clamping back together all over my body. My body retained warmth much better, but I also knew that I was heavily restricted like this, as my scales now wouldn’t move half as much as they usually would.
The thoughts of how to protect myself drained away as I looked up. A faint snow drifted down and dusted my snout. Above, the clouds parted to allow the moon to cast its light on the city, and as the snow piled up, I smiled. This was my home, and I was looking forward to continuing to build it.
