[rework] Minglings - chapter 24: Conflicting desires

Mason hid further in the green bush, holding his breath as the group of goblins moved past him. They were quiet and alert, spears at the ready, and Mason knew if they found him, he might not be able to kill all six. Besides, alerting the rest to his presence would be foolish. The small group disappeared into the dense jungle, but he remained still.

Sandra had told him that one of the goblins would be trailing the others, and he waited. A few seconds later, a black-skinned Goblin, probably some evolution, stealthily moved in front of his bush. Its movements were smooth, and it took extreme care with where it placed its feet. Looking around for a second, it sniffed as if trying to pick up some scent before stalking away as silently as it came.

Counting to thirty, Mason took a deep, shuddering breath. Damn them! Was there no safe place left? Sneaking through the dense jungle, making sure not to leave any traces of his passing, he took a roundabout way back to the coast and their temporary hideout. When he saw the white sands and the treacherous waters through a hole in the jungle, pain and loss struck him like a hammer. He took a quick breath, suppressing the tears that tried to form, then clenched his teeth.

I will find you, Jake!

--

Jake roared with laughter, watching his youngest sibling pounce on the small serpent he had brought.

His joy quickly disappeared as he recalled why he had brought it in the first place. They needed to learn to take care of themselves because he couldn't stay here much longer. Looking around the new cave, he felt a content grin reform on his long snout. This new hideout was high up the cliff and much less prone to prying eyes. They would be safe here until they grew larger, feeding on the smaller lizards and rats that lived this high.

As the two lithe lizards continued hunting their prey, he examined them. With the knowledge that he had absorbed from his other half, he knew full well that his siblings weren't normal. Though not potential dragon vessels, they had gained something from being born in the same nest as he was- my other half was, Jake corrected himself mechanically.

His siblings were already bigger and stronger than the other lizards that he had found in the forest and, more importantly, intelligent enough to learn words.

"Tir, don't bully your brother. You are stronger than him, but not than the older ones that hunt below! You will need each other to survive," he said. His deep voice had a slight lisp that still annoyed him.

"Big brother! She mean," Ter cried sadly, but Jake knew he was trying to manipulate him. Though not as strong as Tir, Ter was proving to be a smart little rascal.

His sister, a dark blue lizard with pink eyes, hissed at him before looking at Jake. He knew she was testing him, again, to see how he would react. She had been doing so repeatedly over the last few days.

Jake felt like smiling again, wondering if this was what it felt like to be a parent or older brother. Though part of him shouted that these weren't really his siblings and that his parents didn't look like lizards, it was a soft voice growing softer with each passing day.

"Tir, let him catch it. It is important that he learns," he said, putting some force in his voice.

Tir sniffed, then she released the serpent's tail, causing it to slither frantically towards the exit. Ter howled in joy and rushed forward, trying to jump his nimble prey. Tir dashed around, blocking the exit to make sure Ter wouldn't lose it.

Looking at their antics, he felt a sadness bubble up at the prospect of leaving them here to fend for themselves. It began warring with his internal agony of not knowing where Mason was, and they ended in a stalemate. They had done so each day since awakening. Still, he knew his siblings would be safer here than with him as he traveled through the sea.

He still found it hard to fathom he was able to leave them behind at all. Though he saw them as his siblings, and it hurt, he knew if he had been a human, he'd never have been able to leave behind two toddlers.

Perhaps it's because that's how dragon-blooded act, he thought, hoping he wasn't turning into something coldblooded and evil. Then he grinned as Tir slapped the serpent away from a crack, causing it to nib Ter in the tail, who howled, and he shoved that thought away. He was definitely not becoming evil!

After following the two until they caught, killed, and ate their prey, he focused on the humanoid skulls at the entrance. He shook his head, still surprised, and picked up one of the skulls with his taloned claw. From both his dreams and what he thought he knew about Dragons, he had expected his new form to be massive, the size of a train or house. But, staring at the large skull in his hand, he estimated that he was smaller than an average human — that, or the skull is from some giant, he thought with a sudden shiver of fear.

"Leave us here? Alone?" Tir's soft voice startled him, and he saw she was staring at the skull in his hand. "Find...Mason?" The name sounded weird, coming from her maw.

He lay down on the ground, his long neck stretched out, and stared at Tir. "Yes, Tir. I need to find him. He could be in danger and needs my help."

"We need help," Tir stated as if it was the most natural thing in the world. Though Ter had proven to be the smarter of the two, Tir was far more sensitive to Jake's mood.

Jake felt his heart ache, but any thought of abandoning Mason was far worse, almost inducing a panic attack. He had merged with the other's mind and soul, but his experiences and memories dwarfed those of the other. Now all that was left of the entity were dreamlike memories and a dull desire to protect the two small lizards — that and the occasional outburst of bloodlust and anger that he had difficulty controlling, he thought, sighing.

"Let me hunt and sleep. Tomorrow I will decide," he said, knowing it was a lie.

Tir nodded resolutely, something she had picked up from watching him. He could see that from her perspective, the matter was done, and he felt bad. He was glad Tir didn't notice but instead rushed back into the cave, where Ter had started playing with the remains of the serpent in a rather gruesome game of whack-a-mole.

Fine, time for some fun!

He rose and moved his sleek body towards the entrance, staring down at the small woods below. Craning his long neck outside to make sure there was nothing nasty perched on the side of the cliff, he was relieved that there was only smooth black rock.

A feeling of anticipation came as he gazed into the depths below. Gone were the fear and discomfort of heights. All that remained was a joy as he lunged forward, propelling his athletic blue body outwards before gravity exerted itself, and he plummeted down. As the air rushed along his scaled face, he wanted to howl in ecstasy. But that would alert others, which he needed to prevent.

Grinning like the old german-sheppard of his mother, he unfurled his wings. The air felt like a massive thing as he was propelled forward by his momentum, the wind pressing hard against his leathery wings, pushing him higher and higher. In front of him, he saw the coastline and the dark blue sea. Banking to the left, he circled, taking in the small, forested island with the single mountain in the middle. The day before, he had scouted it and found that he was now the strongest and largest thing here. But not by a lot. Two serpents that lived near the sea and one black lizard in the forest's depths were similar to his size and gaining on him now that he had neglected to hunt for two days.

He knew that if he wanted to find Mason, but also keep Tir and Ter safe, the larger predators on the island needed to die, starting with the three most dangerous.

A roar came from the other side of the forest, and he felt his heartbeat rise in expectation. From the other's -my- memories, he knew that the black-scaled lizard would hunt at this time of day, and it was the only thing that could and would roar that loudly.

Flapping his wings to keep altitude, he kept his gaze locked on the woods until he saw a few trees shake. There! Only one thing was that big. Folding in his leathery wings, Jake plummeted towards the gray and green forest, the air rushing passed him like a howling banshee. Just above the treeline, he straightened out, slowing and stopping as fast as he could before landing on a branch of a giant tree. Grabbing onto the dark bark, he folded his wings on his back and began creeping down, headfirst and ready for anything.

The forest was silent, all of the smaller residents hiding from the largest predators on the island. Hanging upside down on one of the lower, thick branches, he stilled. He didn't have to wait long. The thicket below began shaking, and a black-scaled head, resembling that of an alligator, peaked out, red eyes thoroughly examining its surroundings. When nothing seemed amiss, the rest of the body came into view.

Damnit! How did it grow that much? Jake felt his previous confidence falter as he looked at the long-legged, black alligator monster. It moved close to the ground, but Jake knew it was capable of climbing, and fast too.

Now what? He had planned to grab it, fly up, and then drop black to its death. It was one of his favorite ways of ending a fight. Seeing the muscled, heavyset body, he knew that was out of the question. It had grown a lot since the last time, and he knew there was only one way that it had grown this fast. It had eaten one of the sea serpents.

Steeling himself, Jake began climbing down. It just meant it was an even fight now, he told himself. Besides, he wasn't out of options either. Sneaking after the other, he began concocting a new plan. He needed a good, open ground, preferably with little trees. That way, he could flee if things went sideways. Sneaking through the thick vegetation, he stopped every time his prey did. Half an hour later, his chance arrived. Black had been bustling through the bushes to chase things out when a soft cracking noise came from the side. Black, suddenly stealthy, moved through a blue-leafed bush.

A red lizard, half the size of Black, sat inside a hole below an enormous tree, gorging on snake eggs. Black, a mass of muscle and blinking teeth, rushed from the bush and jumped it. Sensing something amiss, Red scurried away and attempted to flee. It almost reached another bush when the massive Black barreled into him, knocking him over. Red rolled to his feet, smoke trickling from his mouth, as he let out a warning growl.

Red dragon blood, Jake thought, surprised. He couldn't recall seeing this specific Red before. He'd seen, even killed them before, sometimes with great danger to himself, but this one was way too small to be of any threat.

He climbed into the nearest tree and got ready. The red one posed no trouble to Black either, but if his prey wasn't careful, he could get some burns. Jake heard the Black growl, part challenge, part warning. The sound reverberated through the ground, and out of the blue, Jake's draconic rage began building up like steam in a kettle. A red haze started forming, and he barely held himself back from joining the snarling and slashing fight. With incredible effort, he repressed it, but it lingered in the back of his mind, continuously trying to force him to action.

Dammit. I need to learn how to control this, or I'll get myself killed, Jake thought as he struggled with the anger.

A deafening roar and an increase in the surrounding temperature made him look up, and he was just in time to see Black leap aside, out of the way of a roaring fire that erupted from Red's maw. It collided with a tree, leaving a circular scorch mark on the trunk. A strange feeling of superiority bubbled up. That fire would hardly harm him! He had fought those fire-breathing lizards before. Shivering, Jake resisted the foreign influence, a lingering remnant of the other, animalistic part of him. These feelings weren't his! Breathing in deeply, he forced the struggling wafts back into the confines of his mind.

As his mood stabilized again, Jake stared at the two fighting lizards. Black would win. That much was obvious. What he needed now was the right time to strike. It didn't take long. Black rushed forward, but not as fast as he could have. From where Jake stood, it was an obvious and blatant attempt at baiting Red to attack. He was going to dodge to the side when Red opened fire, the rush the other before it could react.

Red didn't see or know this, of course, but Jake grinned. Trusting his memories and instincts, he kept his wings tucked close and dashed forward on all four. It wasn't as elegant as he would have liked, and Black saw him coming at the last moment. Luckily it was too late for the other to act. Before Black could dodge both him and the fire attack, Jake slammed into him. Wrapping his long and powerful front legs around Black, he held him in place just as Red's second flame attack hit.

Like a flamethrower, Red's torrent of fire engulfed them.

Black howled in pain, so loud it caused the hidden birds all around to scatter, flying away in droves. Jake strained at his flailed struggles while he kept his eyes closed. Those were the only things that might get hurt by the burning flames surrounding him. The rest of him was fine. The thin layer of water that was always present on his scales evaporated, only to be replenished immediately in a speedy cycle. From his stomach, he felt the small but constant drain on his energy supply. Black was still struggling but weakening rapidly.

The attack seemed to last for minutes, but in reality, it took only three seconds for Red to let out a wheeze and the fire to stop.

Black groaned, far from dead, and Jake used his hind legs and tail to keep him in place. Quickly straddling the large lizard's chest, he ripped out the unprotected throat. The taste of hot blood was like oil on a fire and instantly fueled his anger and bloodlust, causing it to flare up. Ignoring it was grueling, but he wasn't done yet. Holding his desire to feast on Black now, he glared at Red. The smaller, red-scaled lizard was breathing heavily, his nostrils flared, and his eyes partially closed.

He is winded! Jake realized the opportunity and jumped forward. Red saw him coming and turned to flee, but far too slow. Had he been at full strength, the nimble wingless lizard would have easily evaded him, but as it was, Jake barreled into him, knocked him over then slapped the poor defense attempt away.

Red managed a single soft keen before Jake crunched his throat, barely noticing how little it bothered him.

As the red lizard slumped on the ground, blood pooling beneath him, Jake stepped back, looking around with a snarl. It took him a few moments to calm down as he realized there were no more enemies. Black was no more than an unmoving, charred carcass, and the Red was almost dead.

Jake grinned, feeling a chilling power course through him. His knowledge and experience made him a far more dangerous killer than the others on this island. Suddenly the scent of fresh blood caused him to drool. Ignoring the red body, he moved to the corpse of his previous biggest competitor. Without hesitating, he ripped the scaly skin off and began gorging himself on his prey's flesh.

Twenty minutes later, he rose, inches taller, his exhaustion gone, and the volcanic bloodthirst slated. He looked at the still form of Red next to him.

Time to feed the others.

He leaped atop it, dug his claws in, and began flapping his wings, causing a small whirlwind of sand and leaves all around him. With Black's energy and flesh, he had grown another size and managed to carry Red up to his lair. Still, his wings were slightly sore when he got there.

He dropped the body on the ledge, landed next to it, and began dragging it into the cave. "Ter, Tir, come! I have brought food."

His two smaller siblings rushed forward from the hiding place he had made for them, a narrow hole that was hard to see behind the boulders he had shoved in front.

They didn't wait for a second but started trying to pull strips of meat from where his claws had left deep wounds in the carcasses' back. Too small, they struggled, but their happy yelps showed they were enjoying themselves. Jake let them try for a bit, watching them with a content sense of achievement.

Abruptly a sliver of the other's memories pushed forward—a nest with eight eggs surrounded him while his tiny, blue lizard arms were still covered in eggshells and yolk. A giant blue lizard was battling a massive serpent at the entrance. The memory was chaotic and lasted for a few moments before dissipating as the serpent pulled the blue lizard out of the cave and away. The last sense was fear and worry as he looked at the eggs, wondering how to save them.

That was our... their... mother, Jake, trying to separate his memories from those of the other, the lizard. He succeeded for only a moment before the memories seemed to integrate with his own. It felt so natural that he realized he didn't even want to separate them anymore.

I wonder what will happen to me after I've absorbed all of his memories, Jake thought.

"Brother, this meat hot!" Ter snapped.

Jake looked up to see his tiny siblings had managed to rip off slivers of meat. Ter was glaring at his bit while his sister was gingerly chewing a tiny bit before spitting it out and rubbing her face.

What now? Curious, Jake ripped a mouthful of meat from the red carcass, and a spicy, pungent taste filled his mouth, almost making him gag. Was it because the fire lizard was another element? He suddenly recalled a memory that instantly integrated with his own, where he had killed a tiny red lizard and tasted the same. Back then, he had spat it out and forgot about it.

Those elements again... I guess fire and water don't mix, Jake thought. He frowned at the carcass and Tir, who was licking a bit of flesh, seeming intent on trying. Forcefully eating it could bring harm to the little ones.

"You are right. I am not sure this is good for us. Hide, I will take it away and find something else," he said abruptly.

Feeling stupid that he hadn't thought of tasting the meat first, he grabbed the bleeding carcass and rushed out of the cave, ignoring the surprised cries. As he jumped into the air, the corpse in his hind claws, a good idea of what to use it for, came to him.

Let's go fishing, he thought with a nasty grin as he set course to the sea.

--

"How dare they do this! Were they never Human to begin with?" Sandra snarled at the others. Her fist slammed into the rock, causing hairline cracks to appear.

Mason couldn't agree more, his blood boiling as he suppressed his desire to rush into the jungle and rip apart all of the Goblins he could find.

"We've changed, and so have they. Perhaps it is time we stop thinking of them as Human and see them as the monsters they are?" Willson said.

The burly Kobold was calmly staring out across the sea, keeping an eye on Emma and O'Reilly. As the only ones who could breathe water, they were hunting for food again. Even with the sea being as dangerous as it was, it was still safer than the jungle.

Sandra cursed hatefully. "You are right. Only monsters would commit genocide while laughing!" She growled before turning to Tergin, who was silently sitting beside them. "Describe what you saw again. Leave nothing out. Perhaps we can find a way to free them."

Tergin's eyelid twitched, and he nodded. "A few hours along the coast are the beginnings of a large Goblin-town with a wooden fortification surrounding it. Everything is still under construction, but from what I know, Goblins never work this hard. There has to be a highly evolved one forcing them, or... it could be that, like you aren't entirely similar to other Kobolds, they aren't the same as the Goblins I know. They have around four hundred Goblins across the camp, but I don't know how many are scavenging for food in the jungle. They keep coming and going."

Fucking four hundred? Mason thought as he stared at his hands. How were they going to fight four hundred?

Tergin fell silent for a while, seeming to deliberate his words before continuing. "At the side of the town is a fenced-off area with wooden cages. Inside are wounded Kobolds. During the evening I was there, they removed two from captivity and let them loose in the woods. A group of Goblins went after them, to hunt them down and..." the Kobold snarled before shaking his head as if to clear an image from his mind. "They ate them, roasted their limbs over a fire while singing and dancing like maniacs."

The Kobolds were silent, each with their own thoughts until Sandra waved her hand. "Tell the rest."

Tergin seemed tired, but he nodded and continued. "I scouted around the camp for a day and found that all female Goblins are pregnant, meaning they will have another litter within the month and a clutch of full-grown Goblins within the year. Without any large threats, they will swarm this island within ten years, creating a small Goblin kingdom. After they ravage and slaughter everything here, they will find the other islands and take those over, killing everyone they encounter."

"And their leader?" Sandra stared at the other, a smoldering look in her eyes.

"Large, and no longer a Goblin or Hob but an Orc. As far as I can see, he is the only one, but he has a dozen female goblins hanging around his throne. I was unlucky enough to witness him... procreating with a few of them while the other Goblins watched and cheered." Tergin blinked before examining the three earthlings with barely hidden disgust. "Is that normal in your world?"

Mason snorted, before laughing, while Sandra just sniffed dismissively.

"Not normally. Usually, it only happens if people are paid for it by others." Willson stated, seeming undisturbed by what he had heard. Mason examined him, slightly jealous at the other's calm. His demeanor had changed since they arrived back at the island.

Tergin blinked, then nodded with a scowl. "I have heard of that. It happens in larger cities if the stories are true. No coin was paid for this, trust me on that, but I would pay to remove the images from my mind."

"Have you seen where they found the Kobolds?" Mason asked, the short moment of hilarity raised by Tergin's question gone as fast as it had come.

"They sent armed patrols deep into the jungle, and I saw one come back with a captive."

Everyone was silent, the Antraci tribe member's words seemingly lingering in the air, when Sandra again broke the silence.

"We can't fight that many Goblins without more forces. If they can capture Kobolds in this jungle, we can find them first and save them. We need to bolster our numbers," she said. She turned to Mason, staring at him quietly, and he knew she wanted something from him.

Narrowing his eyes, Mason finally stood and turned around. "I need to think." He walked off towards the coastline and a few flat black boulders. He could hear Sandra mutter something, but he ignored it.

--

"There he goes again, pining for his friend when he knows it's a lost cause," Sandra said angrily, grabbing a handful of sand and flinging it into the jungle.

"Don't be so harsh on the boy, San... Sarge," Willson said softly. "He is only twenty or so and has never had any hardships. He will learn."

"We don-... Gah! Fuck it, fuck him, and fuck you! And stop calling me Sarge. You can barely stomach the word anymore, and there isn't any military left anyway. Now go see if the others have caught anything. We need provisions if we are to go into this infernal jungle."

"Yes, Sandra," Willson said before walking off, not seeming very upset.

Sandra's eyes widened at the other's calmness, and she gnashed her teeth loudly as she turned to Tergin. "And you. Why didn't Mason and I have any dreams after the first one? That punk, Jake, had like a hundred and was this close to changing into a bloody dragon over a week ago!"

Tergin shrugged as he rose. "I don't know, perhaps because there isn't enough of your natural element around. Willson seems to be changing, though, and I don't know how or why. But when did he learn to understand the olden tongue?" Then the scarred, limping Kobold turned around and walked towards where Mason was sitting.

Sandra gawked as she looked at Wilson near the shore. Tergin was right. How the hell had she missed that?

"Shit..." she grunted, and a sad look crossed her face. "They didn't bloody prepare me for this. You didn't prepare me for this, gramps! Dammit!"