[rework] Minglings - chapter 11: Party time

Jake froze as he stared at the girl, her eyes wide in fear while barring her teeth in a silent, aggressive snarl. The speed of her changing emotions surprised him, and in his mind, he knew her reaction was odd. It wasn't typical for a human girl her age who had gone through all the horrible things Emma had the last two days. His instincts, however, told him she was a fine hatching and would survive to grow strong.

Hatchling? Jake thought, unsure where that word had come from. Then he shook himself. He was focusing on the wrong things!

"Where are they coming from?" he hissed, not hearing any voices.

Emma pointed a trembling finger at the jungle over a hundred feet downstream.

Jake cocked his head as he looked, trying to pick up any sound and failing. There was no difference between that part or the rest of the surrounding jungle. The leaves were green, purple, and large, creating a wall so dense it was impossible to see inside for more than a few feet.

Wait, Jake thought as he remained perfectly still. The fact that he could see inside even this tiny bit meant it was less dense than the jungle they had crossed.

A soft moan caused him to start and look to the side. Mason had picked that exact moment to wake. He was about to check on him when Emma rushed to Mason's side before he could. She knelt beside him and whispered for him to be quiet. Mason stopped moaning, blinking at the sky blearily before raising a hand to his head.

Jake hoped Mason would be fine and turned his gaze back to the forest. He had to be able to respond if anything jumped out at them.

Seconds passed by, and he still didn't hear anything. He turned to Emma and found her gaze was fixated on a single point of the jungle.

"What do you hear?" he whispered.

"A-" Emma began when a startling scream caused Mason to sit up, ramming his head into Emma's, hovering above him. The girl gave a startled cry and backed up, rubbing her forehead until she was standing beside Jake.

"Quiet," Jake whispered, praying nothing had heard them.

Mason put a hand on his head and looked around, blinking.

"..wa wass t,ath?" he asked with a thick tongue. His eyes seemed to slowly regain their focus. When he looked up at Jake, staring worriedly at the jungle, he staggered to his feet, moving next to the other two.

"What's going on? Was I still sleeping, or did someone scream?" Mason whispered.

"Yes, and Emma has been hearing voices from over there," Jake whispered back, taking a quick look at Mason's wounds. A bit of blood still poured from a tiny hole, and the scales around where the spear had penetrated weren't as thick yet, but he had mostly healed. Healed from a spear in the back... Jake could barely believe it.

"Damnit! Can't I ever wake up to a normal situation again?" Mason hissed, still sounding weak.

Before the others could reply, a roar came from the jungle, followed by angry shouting and panicking screams.

"There are people in trouble over there," Mason said matter of factly, but not showing any indication of rushing over to help them.

"Yes. And as far as I can hear, they are bringing the trouble our way," Jake responded. He heard shouting and what seemed like fighting noises close in from the jungle.

"Of course they are," Mason said, his voice in mock desperation...

As the shouting got closer, individual words could be made out, garbled, guttural, and utterly savage.

"That wasn't a human language, was it?" Jake asked.

"How about we don't stay here and find out? We have no idea what is happening." Mason didn't wait for a response but began backing away from the sounds.

"Do we go back into the jungle?" Emma asked, sounding scared.

"Not in a million years! Let's move along the river away from-"

Mason's voice was drowned out by a loud, high-pitched female voice, letting out a litany of curses and orders.

Jake and Mason froze and shared a startled and suddenly hopeful look.

"That sounded like military..? There are humans over there!!" Jake uttered, forgetting for a split second that there probably weren't any real humans left after the change.

A startled cry, followed by laughter, came from close to the edge of the jungle.

"Shit! Let's see what happens. If we don't have any other choice, we make a run for it or hide back in the jungle." Mason grunted.

He had barely finished speaking when a ragged, barely clothed figure emerged from the jungle, staggering when he suddenly stepped into an open space. Before they could get a good look, he turned around.

"Sarge, over here! There is some open space here!"

Jake felt a tiny relief when he saw a tail covered in green scales sticking out from under a ruined military tunic.

A shout came in response, and within a few moments, more figures emerged from the jungle.

"They are all like us?" Emma asked, sounding uncertain and looking at Jake for confirmation.

Without taking his eyes off the figures, Jake nodded. "I think so, except for that thin one. She looks a lot like David, don't you think?"

Mason grunted in acknowledgment. "One Fiend and four Kobolds. Now let's see what they are running from."

He hadn't finished his sentence yet, when a group of shorter figures rushed out of the jungle, stumbling and crying in shock. They took only moments to notice the group of Kobolds and the Fiend, and laughter rang from them.

Jake felt a fit of unbridled anger when he saw the tiny green beings. It took great effort to stay where he was.

"Goblinsss" Mason hissed, drawing out the word while anger warped his face into a hideous mask.

A high-pitched growl came from Emma, and she made to move forward.

Barely holding his own emotions in check, Jake grabbed her shoulder, causing her to stop.

"Wait. We need to see if there are more of those little nightmares," he said, his voice coming out like a strangled growl.

A quick look at Mason showed that his friend had managed to keep himself under control, if only barely. In front of them, the Goblins were walking menacingly toward the smaller group of Kobolds.

"There are twelve Goblins and only four Kobolds. They won't stand a chance," Mason said, seeming to ignore the Fiend's existence. With a determined look on his face, he turned to Jake. "We should help them."

"Look at those Goblins! They are all military. What if we move over there and more show up?" Jake said, shaking his head in uncertainty.

"So are those Kobolds, and with our help, they can make short work of those ugly green farts. But if we stay here, the Goblins will kill the Kobolds, and then what? They will see us, and we will be next!" Mason hissed before moving forward, ignoring any more attempts to change his mind.

Jake wished he had a better strategy, but his own instincts were screaming at him to run forward. Besides, Mason had given his anger free reign, and even before he was a Kobold, it would have been almost impossible to stop him. He released his grip on Emma's shoulder.

"Damnit, fine! Let's go and help that fool."

Jake ran forward, overtaking Mason. "You stay back a bit. You're still wounded," he said before speeding up.

In the corner of his eye, he saw a sudden movement, then Emma appeared beside him. Half his size, her legs were moving in a blur, but from the look on her face, it was apparent it cost her little effort.

Shit, what is she doing here, he thought. Then he saw her pulled back lips, canines gleaming and narrowed yes. Jake felt his mind stumble for a moment. His human memories asserted themselves, wanting him to call her and tell her to wait, but his new Kobold instincts wanted none of it. They said she would be fine and needed the experience.

Besides, Jake suddenly thought, as his Kobold instincts overruled his old way of thinking, he was there to keep her safe!

Jake focused on the Goblins that had almost reached the Kobolds. The fighting would start before they got there.

Angered at the thought of Goblins beating Kobolds, Jake wished he could move faster and tried to inch out more speed.

New instincts began to kick in, and he angled his upper body forward and down, his tail outstretched behind him, leaving him almost horizontally with the ground. With the change in balance came a sense of security and power. He had been using some of his leg strength to keep the awkward balance! He pushed harder and felt the muscles in his legs grow taut like cables. The immediate acceleration made it seem as if he had not been moving at all previously.

Emma gave a surprised shout, mostly drowned out in the rush of air along his ears. Within seconds, Jake cleared the remaining distance.

Emma's shout hadn't gone unnoticed, and both Goblins and Kobolds had stopped moving, looking at them as they ran towards them. The Kobolds regrouped quickly. Two turned to face him while they prepared to fight the Goblins. Raising broken-off branches, the two green-scaled Kobolds seemed ready to attack.

In front of them, the Goblins looked from Jake and the others back to the group, seeming confused and uncertain.

Now what? Jake thought, feeling almost as confused at the Goblins. The situation didn't at all go as he had expected: them running in to help the Kobolds against the Goblins.

He jumped to the side, gouging out long tracks in the muddy ground and sliding for a good eight feet before finally standing still. Raising his head, he found he was now at under two arm's distance from the Kobolds who were staring at him, branches raised. From this distance, the minute details of their reptilian faces were clear to see, as was the fact that they were at least a head smaller than him. Going about it much more relaxed than he had, Emma came to a standstill next to him, looking at the other Kobolds with wide-eyed interest.

Jake took a quick look behind to see Mason was almost there as well, moving faster than Jake thought he could with his wounded back. There had to be some internal injuries left... right? Or could they just heal from anything now?

"Who the hell are you!?"

A commanding voice cut through his confused mind, and he quickly looked back. A female Kobold had stepped forward, trying to divide her attention between the Goblins and him, her head snapping left and right. She was impressive, a head taller than the others and about as tall as him and Mason. A ragged military outfit covered one leg and some of her torso, and the copper-colored scales were broken and scratched in many places as if she'd taken a beating. Two intense golden eyes framed by short black hair around her face stared at Jake, demanding an answer.

Jake swallowed as he tried to keep his gaze from drifting to a hole near her chest where he saw the edge of her breast. A part of his body began giving a very inconvenient reaction. The intense golden eyes narrowed. He was about to choke out a response say when Mason came to a groaning halt beside him, saving him from propper embarrassment.

"We are like you guys and here to help," Mason said through bursts of ragged breathing. He was slightly stooped forward, and Jake began to worry when Mason had a coughing fit. Then he spat something out, straightened, and took a few deep breaths.

The Kobolds continued to look at them, their makeshift weapons raised.

"Help? Where the hell did you pop up from?" The tall, copper-colored female asked.

Looking at the Female Kobold, Mason's eyes widened slightly, and his gaze roamed across her body. Scraping his throat, he grinned at Jake, seeming to ignore the glare of the woman.

"Ok, I guess we can scratch that other problem we discussed."

"We got lost in the jungle when we ran from a horde of rats," Emma said in her soft and high-pitched voice.

The Female Kobold focused on her with a frown.

"Is this the right time to be talking about this?" Jake asked, pointedly looking to the side.

The Goblins were spreading out, blocking any escape route except the river behind them.

Jake exchanged a glance with Mason, then they backed up a few steps and ignored the other Kobolds.

"So I guess the military followed orders?" Mason spat, fixating one of the Goblins with an angry stare. As he did, his vertical pupils dilated like those of a reptile.

The Goblin froze, a startled look crossing his yellow face while his to-large black eyes widened. Then he shook himself and his thin lips curved into a mocking smile showcasing a row of sharp teeth.

"Think you are smart, do ya? You should have played ball and done the same! You're gonna find out why trying to be a rebel was stupid!!" the Goblin drawled before bursting into a cruel giggle.

The other Goblins were quick to follow him, and a cascade of manic laughter broke the relative silence of the jungle. As if there was a sign the Kobolds couldn't see, they shut up simultaneously and started moving towards the Kobolds.

Mason replied with a grin that didn't reach his eyes before taking a sudden step forward, his chest puffing out like a smith's bellows. Opening his mouth so wide he would have dislocated it if he were human, he roared at the Goblins.

A rough and trumpet-like sound rippled out, almost visibly warping the air.

All across the jungle, bird-like creatures flew up in a great flock, scattering.

The Goblins reacted as if someone had punched them in the face, jumping back and some even toppling over. Their entire menacing atmosphere was lost as they scrambled to get some distance between themselves and the golden-scaled, barely clothed Kobold.

The other Kobolds gawked at Mason, and blatant admiration shone in the eyes of the smaller Kobolds.

A wicked grin crept up Jake's face, and he gave his friend a thumbs up.

----

Deep inside the jungle, amongst the treetops, three rapidly moving figures suddenly stopped. They looked around in confusion before one pointed to the side. They immediately changed course, rushing along the branches in the direction of the roar.

----

"Now!" the female Kobold shouted.

She seemed the one least shocked. Not waiting for the effect of Mason's stunning shout to end, she rushed to the Goblins, still standing around in disarray.

Jake and Mason moved almost before she shouted, while the other Kobolds shook their head, then followed behind the trio. Even Emma rushed forward, staying close to Jake but seeming as ferocious as the adults.

Jake crashed into one of the Goblins that had managed to remain on his feet, knocking him over before barrelling into a second Goblin that had been on the ground, still gaping at Mason. Jake kicked at the smaller creature as it finally snapped out of it. It cursed and tried to crawl away from him, but too late. Three-inch dagger-like nails struck his hastily raised green arms. The Goblin shrieked as his arms were shoved back, and the nails ripped into his face, causing blood to spray everywhere.

Jake had never killed anything bigger than a rat, and he felt his instincts and upbringing fight again. None got the upper hand, and he kept his foot down, holding the struggling Goblin in place as he looked around.

Beside him, Mason had grabbed one of the Goblins and held him in a stranglehold, its feet kicking around in the air, trying to find a foothold. A snap sounded, and the Goblin stopped moving. Grinning like a madman, Mason tossed the Goblins at two others before rushing them. A few feet away, the military Kobolds ganged up on a Goblin. They tripped it before rapidly beating the flailing Goblin to death with their sticks, creating a dull slapping motion. Behind them lay another, twitching Goblin, blood pouring from its mouth and pooling below.

Instead of helping their allies, the remaining Goblins scattered with frighting shouts.

"Back! Run back to the boss! We come back and find them later!" one of them screamed, and without waiting for his friends, he turned around, rushing back towards the jungle.

The scattered Goblins followed him, one moving on all fours in his haste to flee. None looked back at those they were leaving behind.

Jake saw something move from the side, and the female Kobold leader sprinted after the Goblins. "Don't let them get away- they might get help!"

Ahead of him, Mason dashed forward, incepting some of the Goblins.

He needs help, Jake thought worriedly.

He looked at the struggling Goblin below his foot. What should he do? Tie it up so it couldn't flee? Kill it, his instincts screamed. Jake shook his head. Why should he do that? It wasn't a direct threat anymore! An echo of his past upbringing tried to reason with him to release his hold on the Goblin, and he hesitantly began pulling his foot back. As if they were angered, his new instincts surged forward like an avalanche, drowning out anything he'd thought before. Suddenly clear of mind and with deep-seated anger and loathing, Jake stomped on the Goblin's throat.

The Goblin let out a wet, gurgling cry as dark blood splattered up and across Jake's chest and legs. The dark yellow eyes widened in shock, pain, and fear before slowly glazing over.

Jake regained some of his clarity, and his first worry was he would feel nauseous. But as he gazed at the mangled corpse below his feet, nothing happened; no nausea, no self-loathing for killing something. It felt like he'd just squished a wasp that might have stung him. Part of him wondered if he would have nightmares tonight.

Shaking his head, Jake quickly looked around.

There was a line of three mangled Goblins behind the female Kobold leader of the other group, who stood growling near the jungle edge. Behind her, the other soldiers looked around, weapons razed and ready for anything, two more bodies behind them.

Mason was standing a few feet away from them, four unmoving shapes and an ever-increasing pool of blood surrounding him.

Wait, where's Emma? Jake thought, and this time he did feel something.

Then he turned and saw her stand behind him, a confused look on her face as she looked pulled long green fingers from her mouth and dropped them on the ground. Oddly, Jake realized he had a general idea of what she had been doing- though he couldn't explain why. She'd fought with one of the Goblins, bitten off some of his fingers, and almost ripped out one of his eyes before he managed to shove her off and flee.

As more of the battle rush faded, Jake wondered if he could learn to control that. He knew running into battles without a plan was a great way to get himself killed.

Trouble for later, he thought with a shrug.

He looked at the leader of the other group and noticed a change. Besides dead Goblins, the battle had changed something about how he felt about her and the other groups. There was trust, more than there should be from the short interaction, but also something more, almost as if they were connected on some level.

Mason turned back, and they shared a quick look, moving closer. Jake pushed away the unrealistic sense that he could trust the others. It was probably his mind playing tricks on him due to the stress of the last few days.

"Do you know what that Boss is he was talking about?" Jake asked the female Kobold.

She didn't reply, still glaring at the dense jungle, her extra eyelids still covering her eyes.

"A few got away," she muttered.

Then she turned to Jake, and the semi-transparent layers retreated behind her eyes-lids. As she gazed at him, then at Mason, and finally back at him, Jake saw a brief look of confusion cross her scaly face. Then her stoic look returned.

"Who are you? And how did you get here?" she snapped in a textbook military command, ignoring Jake's previous question.

Jake blinked, then felt his annoyance grow. They had just run in to save them, and she snapped like this? He was about to say something when Mason beat him to it.

"Didn't your mother ever tell you it is impolite to answer a question with another?" he sneered, a weird undertone in his voice.

Jake looked up in suprise. What are you doing? We don't want to fight them! he tried to convey to Mason- but his friend wasn't even looking at him.

The Kobold turned to him, her eyes narrowing. "She did. And she also told me not to talk to strange or stupid men!"

Her words held the same odd timbre as Mason's, and Jake swallowed as he felt the atmosphere change and grow thick with tension. He took a step back. What the hell was going on?

Mason and the female Kobold began growling as they glared at each other.

"Come on, calm down," Jake said. "There is no need for this!"

Neither of them reacted, and Jake looked around, anxious. The smaller Kobold soldiers were standing close together, glaring at Mason, appearing ready to jump in if he made any sudden moves.

Shit, time to get out of here, Jake thought. Wait, where was Emma? He looked around in a rush until he spotted her. She was standing some distance behind him, closer to the river than he liked, next to the Fiend. Wait, how had he forgotten about the Fiend?

"Emma, be careful. She is like David!" Jake blurted out, rushing forward. The three Kobolds stepped forward, intercepting him while the green one raised a finger threateningly.

"Don't move."

Seeing his path blocked, Jake felt his anger rise. Fueled by fear for Emma's safety, a growl rippled through his chest before he could stop it. The three Kobolds jumped back, raising their wooden clubs.

"Enough!"

A deep, husky voice caused the Kobolds to stop in their tracks. The Fiend moved forward, an annoyed look on her alien face as she stepped between the two parties.

"Are you people for real? You are all acting like you just got a shot of testosterone or something!" she snapped, sneering at the three Kobolds before looking at Jake, unhidden contempt on her face.

Jake looked back, noticing the Fiend was holding Emma's hand. He was about to say something about it when he saw that the little Kobold seemed perfectly fine with the current situation. Instead, she was staring at Mason worriedly.

"I won't harm your friend, nor will we start fighting! Do you understand, Sergeant Sandra?" she bit out the last words as she glared at Mason and the female Kobold, who had started circling each other threateningly.

To Jake's surprise, and likely that of the Fiend, it didn't have any effect. Neither of the Kobolds gave even the slightest reaction, their eyes remaining locked on each other. Although he hadn't seen Mason act like this, Jake knew that his friend wasn't going to back down first. He was far too stubborn. Worried the other Kobolds might jump in, he slowly moved toward Mason, trying to be as unthreateningly as possible and praying others wouldn't get the wrong idea.

"Mason, easy. You know it isn't right to bully girls!" he snapped, adding as much of the worry and annoyance he felt to it.

A startled snort came from Sandra, and she shot him an annoyed glare, her first time breaking the staring contest she had with Mason. Somehow, that seemed to break whatever spell had befallen them as Mason stopped moving and suddenly covered his golden-scaled hand over his mouth. It didn't help, and Mason's smothered laughter caused everyone to look at him in utter confusion. Everyone besides Jake.

Damn, that was close, Mason thought.

"Pffft, you're telling me not to bully her? She is practically bigger than I am! Brother, she is bigger than auntie Dora at the cafeteria!"

Jake sighed, shaking his head. He knew that whatever odd thing to anger Mason had left him, but why did he always have to act so weird in the end? Still, as he had no idea what the hell even happened, he grabbed Mason's arm and dragged him towards the Fiend and Emma. As he did, he took a peek over his shoulder to make sure Sandra wasn't coming after them. Luckily she had stopped looking like a volcano about to explode and was walking after them with a confused frown.

"So, now that we are all done with this charade, how about I tell you how we got here, and then you can do the same?" The Fiend said, looking at Jake.

I don't think that was a charade, Jake thought. The longer he thought about it, the more it reminded him of some territorial dispute between alpha predators. Still, he kept his thoughts to himself and simply nodded.

The Fiend smiled, finally stopping her perpetual glaring.

"Good! My name is Altessalia, but you can call me Tess." Seeing Jake and Mason's look, her smile widened to a grin. "My mother likes unique names."

"Right," Mason said, only making her grin widen more.

"My colleagues and I were in Eastern Europe, trying to find more information about what is-... well, what just happened. During the change, we got stranded in the middle of nowhere's land, together with the army unit designated to guard us," she said as she pointed at Sandra and the others.

"Some of us, as you can see, didn't follow protocol, and this caused a small disagreement. When words failed to placate the situation, we had to take our refuge inside this jungle." Getting carried away with her explanation, the Fiend started gesturing wildly and pointed at the jungle before looking there as if to be dramatic. As soon as she did, her eyes widened, and her hand froze before she looked at Jake.

"Not to be a buzzkill. But if you have more friends with you, perhaps you should call them over? That way, I don't have to tell this story twice."