[rework] Minglings - chapter 25: A strange meeting

It took Jake an hour of slowly hovering above the coastline to find his target. The last remaining giant serpent lay coiled on a partially submerged rock in the sea close to the shore. Its green scales gleamed in the setting sun's light.

Are all of these monsters oblivious to the danger from above? Jake wondered.

The only reason he could come up with was that the serpent thought itself more powerful than anything else. Well, it was about to find out how wrong it was. Landing on the sand, out of view of the serpent, Jake dumped the carcass in the ebb before ripping open more fresh wounds. Blood flowed into the water, tainting it.

That should do, he thought after the nearby water had turned a muddled pink.

He dragged it out of the surf and over the white sand, making sure to leave a few pools of blood before leaving it out in the open. Then hid behind one of the many black boulders lining the shore a good distance away. He climbed atop the back so he could barely peak over the edge, giving him a good view of his trap.

As he had guessed, the serpent appeared within minutes, sliding onto the shore and licking the bloody ground with its three forked tongues. As soon as it saw the carcass, it hissed in excitement and slithered towards the boulder. Getting ready, Jake lost sight of the serpent when it moved close to the rock. He narrowed his eyes, suddenly worried. Seconds ticked by, and when he got to seven, he knew something was wrong. He jumped back just in time to see a blur rush through the air toward him. Instincts kicked in, and Jake jumped into the air, trying to unfurl his wings. Before he could, a long muscular body wrapped around his torso, locking them into place and bruising the vulnerable membranes as he slammed on the top of the boulder he had been hiding behind.

He needed to get out of this, or he'd be strangled! Anger spiked, and he roared and threw himself off the boulder. The serpent's coils tightened as it began strangling him while a hiss came from behind his head. A sudden primal fear made his instincts try and take control, but he fought them off, managing to flip around to land on his back on the ground. The knock must have stunned the snake for a second as the tightening stopped for a moment.

With his hind legs still free, Jake forced himself upright and, without a second thought, rammed his back against the nearest boulder. A pained hiss followed, and he felt something snap in one of his wings, but he didn't stop. Ramming again and again, he finally felt the coils lose, and with a final snarl, he struggled free, jumping out of reach.

The serpent's head lolled to the side slightly, bruised all over, while its tongues hung listlessly from its bleeding mouth. Seeing it twitch, Jake ran forward, ignoring the pain from his wings. He locked his jaws around the neck right below the snake's head. Then he began bashing the serpent against the massive rock, aiming for any ridge he saw, until it's skull had caved in and it had stopped moving.

After what seemed like forever, it let out a final shudder and let out a long, hissing breath. Jake sat down on the ground, drained. His body shivered uncontrollably, and he knew it was a sign that he needed to feed. Staring at the serpent's corpse, he wanted nothing more than to devour it, but then what would Tir and Ter eat?

Glancing at the bleeding red lizard, he sighed before moving over and taking a big bite.

What's the worst thing that can happen? he thought as he swallowed the horrid flesh, trying to ignore the burning in his mouth and throat. He'd eaten one when he was far weaker, and that hadn't hurt him.

Halfway through, he noticed that his body was healing, though not as fast as he was used to while feeding. His stomach had difficulty digesting the bad-tasting meat, and it took much longer for every bit to disappear. It was almost entirely dark when he felt the pain in his wings abate, and he could unfurl them again. Knowing he still needed more, he continued eating until all but a dull ache was gone. Then he grabbed the serpent and tenderly flew back to the cave.

They better appreciate the meal...

--

Staring at Ter and Tir, who were both sleeping in a coil of his tail, Jake smiled. Next to him lay a pile of bones, everything that remained of the sea serpent. It was night outside, and he listened to the distant screams that rose from the forest.

Dammit, he thought as he shook his head.

He'd been wrong, overconfident. He just couldn't leave them here, alone. He had attempted to leave moments before, as they were deep asleep and wouldn't wake for almost a day. His entire body still shook from the experience. Something primal had resisted, making it feel like he had been in a struggling contest with himself. At first, he'd thought it was the tiny remnants of the other part of him, but he quickly found it wasn't. It was something primal, deep down, that told him no.

Fine... I guess that leaves one other option.

He'd to bring them along- even though it was dangerous and would make his journey more difficult. Sighing in resignation, he stared at the moonlit clouds drifting by and knew he had made the right choice. His breathing became slow and deep as the resistance he'd felt for the last few days melted away. He knew he needed to sleep, but for some reason, he wasn't all that tired yet. So he simply relaxed, wondering when it had been the last time that he felt this... content.

An image of him and Mason drinking coffee and planning their holiday popped into his head. Yeah, that would be it. Five minutes before all hell broke loose, he'd felt like this. After that, a week of danger and torment... It felt so much longer.

Staring at the moon, he made his decision. He would take his half-siblings and leave tomorrow. It was time to find Mason, no matter what.

His determination unburdened him immediately, and he barely noticed the beautiful silvery clouds against the star-filled sky as his mind wandered. The sensation reminded him of when he'd decided to attend his father's funeral instead of skipping out, out of fear of seeing his brother. As he thought about the past, he didn't notice that blue specs of light began seeping through the cracks in the walls and ground. Slowly they floated towards him, and only when the first one touched a scale on his wing did he jolt back to reality.

Looking around, he saw that the specs began drifting off again, away from him.

Can I pull them towards me from this far?

He instantly knew he had just discovered something extraordinarily important! Trying to return to the same, almost meditative state, he failed. He was way too exuberant with the idea of meditating to increase his power. After another few minutes of failed attempts, he snorted, causing Tir to jolt in her sleep.

Never mind then, he sighed in regret. He had a vague idea of what had happened and would try again. But not now. Lying down, curling around his siblings, he closed his eyes.

--

It was late in the morning of the second day after they had eaten the sea serpent when Jake told them it was time to leave.

"Really! Really! We come? No stay behind?" Ter kept jumping up and down in excitement while Tir rubbed her head and neck against Jake's tail.

"Yes, Ter, you both can come. But it will be more dangerous than when we lived in the cave next to the sea. So we will have to practice a few things. First, you will have to ride on my back and hold on tight. If I have to hold you all the time, I won't be able to use my claws if I need to," he explained calmly.

Seeing the two lizards nod their small angular heads vigorously, Jake grinned and lowered a wing.

"Climb on, and hold onto the frills on my neck." He hadn't even finished speaking when the pair rushed onto his wing, across his back, and gripped tightly with their jaws. They bit into the smooth silvery mane-like membranes that wrapped from the back of his jaws across his neck and head over his back. It felt like someone tugging at his hair, but not so hard that it hurt.

I guess this will need some getting used to, he thought, shaking his head slightly.

"I am going to fly a bit. Make sure you hang on, and if you are slipping, tell me! It's fine to practice first."

"Flying, flying, flying!' Ter yelled while Tir gave a short tug on his frills causing Jake to groan.

Or don't listen...

He carefully maneuvered to the edge and jumped away, spreading his wings almost instantly to prevent gaining too much speed. The two reptiles on his back became quiet, but their breathing was still relaxed. After a few moments of gliding and making sure he was in full control, he turned his long neck around to look. Tir and Ter's heads were swiveling around, eyes as round as saucers.

Seeing that they were both fine, Jake smiled. This might actually work.

"Listen carefully. I am going to fly faster and move around a bit. Make sure you keep holding on tight."

Both nodded eagerly, and he began flapping, slow at first but faster when it became obvious his passengers were fine. He accelerated until the air whistled around his ears, almost going as fast as he could. Seeing them lower their heads, almost appearing glued to his back with big grins and sparkling eyes, he slowed and banked left. A tiny whoop came from Ter, but that was all, and soon he realized they were fine. As his fear of them sliding off abated, he began turning, doing steep dives and rises until he had done everything he might need to do when fleeing.

"Are you two still ok?"

"Yess, big brother! Thiss great!" Ter squealed in his lispy voice.

Tir was quiet for a while before staring at him, a crafty look in her eyes. "We leave now, big brother?"

Jake noticed that Tir had become smarter and better at speech, having caught up and even outgrown her brother. He wasn't sure how it had happened, but it had been shortly after their last meal so that definitely had something to do with it. "Not yet. I need to hunt for food."

"We come?" Tir asked, hopefully.

As he turned back to the mountain below them, Jake laughed. "No, little one. You will stay in the cave and wait." Seeing Tir's sad face, he smirked and hurried back to the cave, carefully landing on the ledge. His stomach growled angrily.

"Off you go! Now, hide where I told you."

There were two quick yelps of agreement.

Seeing them rush off, not seeming any worse for wear, Jake jumped back out.

Now let's see if we can find some more sea serpents!

His ever-present hunger roared mightily in agreement, and he began scanning around.

--

Three days later, Jake's optimism had turned to desperation as he searched for a place to land. The seemingly endless blue and green sea stretched below him in every direction, glittering in the bright sun. Tir and Ter, having long since gotten used to flying, were staring out across the sea in boredom.

There has to be something out here, Jake thought, ignoring the fact that he had thought the same thing over a dozen times the last day.

Since they left their small island, they had not seen a single piece of land. Their food was gone, and if they didn't find any land before it became night, they would need to spend the night in the sea and hunt. Jake was dead tired, flying three days and two nights straight, and his hunger had turned into something that frightened him. He had expected to find more islands, but no matter how high he flew, there wasn't even a smudge on the horizon. He had kept telling himself that he would find one soon and continued, but he couldn't fool himself any longer.

Can't go any further, he thought as he felt the soreness in his muscles. If he flew any longer, he might be unable to defend them in the sea. Groaning, he took a long final look around, found nothing, and began his descent. His gaze wandering the water, he hoped he'd find some shallower waters, perhaps even a reef, but there was nothing.

"Brother, we go swimming?" Tir asked before yawning widely.

"Yes, Tir. I can't fly anymore. I need to rest and hunt. There isn't any land anywhere I can see, so we will spend the night in the water."

The two began talking actively, making all kinds of plans to explore the underwater area, and Jake felt his hunger and anxiousness grow as each cry seemed to aggravate him more. Finally, a few dozen feet above the surface, he couldn't hold back anymore.

"Quiet!'

He had never yelled at them before, but he was so tired and hungry. Seeing them start and look at him with wide-open eyes and tight jaws, he sighed.

"The sea is a very dangerous place, especially for small lizards like you two. Many predators are there, and they can come from all sides. When we go in the water, you need to stay close to me at all times. Do you understand?" Though he meant well, even he could hear how rough and harsh he sounded. Tir and Ter huddled slightly closer together, their excitement wiped away, replaced with cover, frightened glances at the sea. Although he felt bad for a moment, he shoved the feeling away. It was probably a good thing. It wasn't like he'd lied.

A few minutes later, he skirted across the waves and tried to determine if there was anything dangerous directly below.

Seriously, I didn't want to go in here again like this! If this keeps happening, I will turn into a water dragon afraid of water, he thought.

Flexing his muscles, he came to a sudden stop above the water, hovered for a moment, and dove down when nothing happened.

As soon as the water enveloped him, his sore muscles eased up, and a small influx of energy began refreshing his tired mind. He didn't see any immediate dangers, just an ever-darkening blue below him and a seemingly infinite blue all around. As he kept an eye on the two small ones who seemed to instantly forget their fear and began darting through the water around him, bubbling with excess energy, something touched his mind.

It was the most peculiar sensation, vaguely reminiscent of when he was dreaming about being a dragon, yet at the same time, foreign and scary. Instinctively he tried to block the probing sensation, and he sensed an alien shock and surprise ripple from the entity.

It wasn't the only one shocked. As Jake pushed back, raising some sort of barrier that slowly drained his mana, he was acutely aware of his own mind in a way he had never been before. It was almost as if he'd finally realized he'd had a third hand that he had never seen but now couldn't unsee.

"You are not of Lauriuna's blood! How can there be another pure-blooded water dragon!" a deep and confused voice bellowed. It seemed to drift up from the depths, startling him and causing Tir and Ter to hide below his wings.

Heart rate spiking, he looked around but found nothing. No movement, no shape. Nothing.

Still... it doesn't feel malicious.

Just incredibly old and tired. He carefully tried probing around with his mind and felt the strong, steady movement of the sea and innumerable small particles of energy drifting through it.

"You are young and unknowing!" the voice rumbled.

This time Jake felt its origins. It was far below them, so far, he began doubting there was even a bottom to this sea. Should he reply?

"It has been eons since I spoke to someone. Now speak! Who are you, and where are you from? I don't wish to scour your mind, but I will if you don't answer me!"

Jake felt a combination of interest and anger emanate from below, accompanying the deep voice. And impatience, a lot of impatience. Swallowing, he tried to calm himself as he answered. "I am Jake."

The moment he spoke, he noticed that the other's presence retreated ever so slightly as if to give him some room to respond.

"I have just awoken and am trying to find my friends." Should he explain that he wasn't from this world? He wasn't sure, but he began gently swimming forward as he spoke, not in any particular direction, but it helped to calm his nerves.

"Answer my question, young blood. Where are you from?" The deep voice sounded somewhat amused, but underneath, Jake detected something was boiling, like emotions barely held below a too-thin lid.

"...I am from another world or dimension. I don't understand all of it myself," he said, instantly afraid he'd made a mistake. What if the being thought him an alien that should be killed? His fear proved ungrounded.

"That much is obvious. But if you don't know, that means you must be from one of the fractions. Describe your world," the being rumbled, showing no indication it felt his fear. The voice remained straight below him as if it was moving with him in the depths.

"My world was called Earth, and... it revolved around our sun?" he said lamely. How was he supposed to describe his world?

"As do most worlds." The voice sounded good-humored now. "Were there magics in your world, and if so, which ones?"

Jake blinked his doubly lidded eyes. He didn't think there had been, but how sure could he be?

"If there was, I have never seen it. There were stories and legends about it," he answered carefully.

"Describe some of these legends to me."

Jake sighed and began wracking his brain. In the end, he retold the stories about fairies and what he remembered about the ancient Norse and Greek gods. Feeling the ancient thing listen patiently, he continued with everything he remembered about magic, which wasn't a lot. When he reached the few things he knew about Asian myths and spoke of the long limbless dragons and Ki, the voice suddenly rumbled in surprise.

"Ahhhh, I see. I know where you are from now. Those wingless dragons were extraordinary and uncommon types of wind and water dragons. Long ago, even to me, they left this world in favor of the fake shadow dimensions that surround the true realm. Rumors have it that they even created some of their own. They brought many beings with them and disappeared from common history. Although long-lived, they were not immortal, which explains why you are here. I suspect that the one who created the dimension you originate from died, causing the dimension to become unstable." The longer the being spoke, the more distant its tone became, as if it was regaling its own memories aloud.

Listening quietly, Jake and the two small lizards noticed a tinge of sadness in the end, just before the voice stopped. Bolstering his nerve, Jake took a deep breath of water. "Could you please tell me something about this world that I am in now? Where am I?"

The voice didn't respond immediately, but Jake felt the presence far below, so he just waited. He almost thought the other had fallen asleep when the voice finally answered in a sleepy, drowsy tone.

"You are on the mighty world of Pentara, one of the few free worlds still resisting the influence of the unbound chaos. You have answered my questions, and I am honor bound to answer some of yours... but not now. All this excitement has tired me."

Feeling the presence begin to fade, Jake started to freak out. "Wait, please. I am lost and have no idea where my friends are. How do I find them?"

The presence wavered for a moment before returning, though the voice sounded farther away than before. "I don't know where your friends might be. You are currently on the borders of the largest ocean on Pentera. The closest land is a small string of islands. You can reach them if you follow the setting sun. Be wary. The opposite way leads deeper into the ocean. Don't go there yet, for you are far too young and weak."

The voice began trailing off at the end before falling silent. Jake almost thought it had vanished when a distant whisper followed.

"Find me after you finish growing in body and mind... I'm near the Crescent Skull south of the Weeping Demon Gorge."

Jake felt the presence disappear abruptly, leaving him with dozens of questions, not in the least, what the hell the weeping demons were. As he began to calm down, he heard a soft cry and looked down. Tir and Ter were still quietly hiding below his wings, shivering continuously. "It's gone, don't worry," he said, feeling his worry fade. He curled his wings forward, hugging them closer, and they slowly calmed down.

Remembering the words of the ancient being, Jake swam up through the water and stuck his head out, scanning the sky. The sun was almost at its peak, and he sighed. He would have to wait until it began descending to find out where he should go. That meant a long wait. Trying to guess based on the current position, he went back under, swimming slowly in the direction he hoped would be the right one.

A dull rumbling came from his stomach as it clenched ever tighter in upon itself. Yeah, I know, Jake thought as he clenched his teeth. Going down to find prey in this part of the sea was out of the question.