"So… why can't he talk…?" I asked Lilly with a whisper.
She and I were sitting alone on the last wagon in the caravan. I held the reins, but only to give her a break. Ahead of us was the smaller wagon, one currently being driven by Nessa, Oplar's human assistant.
"His tongue has been cut out. How many tis do you have to be told this Renn? What's wrong?" Lilly asked with a glance at .
The man we were whispering about, Folz, was Randle's associate. He was several wagons ahead, likely sitting on the first wagon in the caravan alongside Randle. He was a half-blood, as Vim would call him, and although a seemingly gentle man… he was also what Lilly called a mute.
"I… don't know. It just does," I said honestly.
I wasn't sure why, but ever since we picked the man up yesterday at the village he'd been waiting for us in… I'd felt a little uneasy around him. There was sothing weird about the way he was so quiet. He would nod and shake his head when we spoke around him, or to him, but he of course didn't speak or make a sound. It just made feel… uneasy, for so reason.
"I an… I get it, I guess. He's a churchman, and an herbivore, so it's natural to find him strange… but for his lack of speech of all things? I thought you of all people would not be so bothered over it," Lilly said, sounding amused.
"Isn't it odd…? I wonder what's wrong with …" I groaned.
"You're being normal for once, is what it is."
I wanted to argue, but couldn't. She was right, at least from her perspective. By all accounts I, as a pure-blooded predator, should feel this way about all of our normal mbers. Particularly the ones who were a part of the sa church that hunted and burnt our people.
Yet… that wasn't , was it? And I've known many people with disabilities, and never once had I been so off-put by them before. For instance for a long ti I had been unable to speak with Lamp and her people, which in essence was the sa thing wasn't it? After all it wasn't as if he wasn't able to communicate. He could hear, and as such could answer questions and stuff with gestures and even with writing... Which ant it wasn't his lack of speech… it was likely sothing else.
"Maybe he's got a heart or sothing," I wondered.
"Does he…? Shouldn't' you be able to tell?" Lilly asked.
I shrugged. "I thought so. Vim said I'd feel the tingle whenever near one… but he also said there would be so I'd not be able to sense, as they won't be able to sense mine either. If they're in the sa bloodline, supposedly."
Lilly humd. "It's so weird that the sa bloodline would do that. You'd think it'd be the opposite. Wonder how that works."
"Don't know… think that's it…? But I hadn't felt this weird or bothered by Light or anything," I asked.
"I don't know, Renn. But I'm no fool. If sothing is bugging you about him, then it'd be wise to heed that feeling. I'll make sure to keep an eye on him for you," she said.
Smiling softly, I nodded. "Thanks… I'll let rit know too."
"Could just be whatever he is, Renn. You're a cat. He might be sothing you find off-putting. For instance I get on edge near snakes, such as the ones at Twin Hills."
"You do…?" I asked, a tad surprised to hear so.
Lilly nodded with a frown. "Yeah…? I an it's not so bad I hate them or anything, but it's noticeable. Vim says it's because they're the kind of snakes that eat baby owls, so it's just sothing from my bloodline. I know they're good people, but it's instinctual. Odds are he's just sothing that bothers you. Funny you finally found one after all this ti," Lilly said.
Huh… "I'll ask Randle what he is later, then, to see if that's it or not," I decided.
Lilly yawned as she leaned back. The wagon made so creaking noises as she did, since it wasn't that well made. "Either way you better figure it out. You'll be basically living with these idiots for years, can't be on edge the whole ti after all," she reminded .
I sighed at that. "I know…"
"Sa with your weird prophecies. Either accept them or ignore them like Vim does," she said, going back to the conversation she and I had been having earlier. I had sat with her originally to ask her what she thought of the fact I was supposed to have shown up a long ti ago. I had been surprised to find out that Lilly had already known about it, or at least had put one and two together concerning it. But the conversation had drifted to Folz and how he bothers before it could have finished.
"Hm… what do you think of them, Lilly?" I asked.
Lilly shrugged. "Prophecies are just… that? I can't count how many I've heard and dealt with. For crying out loud the whole reason I joined the Society is because Celine had shown up because of one, back when I was young. You're basically worrying over what the weather will be like tomorrow. It's silly," Lilly said.
"Rather I'm worrying about the weather tomorrow because I know it's going to storm, for a fact," I argued.
Lilly chuckled at . "Right? But you get my point, don't you? You're stressing over sothing that honestly isn't sothing you can change. You might be strong, Renn, and now have a heart inside you… but you're still just a normal person. You can't change the past, can you?"
"No…" I admitted.
"Then…? What is it you want to say? Would I have loved to have t you way back then…? Sure. Of course I would have enjoyed that. But it didn't happen. End of story."
I sighed but nodded. "rit said much the sa," I said.
"That just makes want to change my opinion," she teased.
Shifting the reins I held, I huffed at her. "What do you think I should do about Vim? Should I tell him about them?" I asked.
"I wouldn't. He'd just get annoyed at best, and at worst might do sothing drastic. He hates such things, Renn," she warned.
"Right… but he already knows about it. He was the first to realize they had been acting on prophecies concerning , before I did," I said.
"Because it was obvious…? But him knowing they saw prophecies concerning you is not the sa as them knowing you were supposed to be here hundreds of years ago. And that you were ant to marry him and change his personality or whatever it is they think you were going to do. I'll be honest Renn, I'd keep it to yourself. Knowing Vim he might even… change his relation with you over it, if you're not careful. I know that sounds drastic, but it's a serious concern. Vim's like that."
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I groaned as I reached up to cover my face. I let the reins drop to my lap as I did, since they stunk. "Right…?" I said through my hands.
Lilly chuckled at as she patted on the back as if to reassure . "I doubt he'd actually do so, Renn. Vim's odd but he's a man of pure dedication. If he vows sothing he'll see it through, damned all else."
"Doesn't change the fact that I really should tell him… now I find out there's so major disaster that's going to happen in a few years…? Vim really should know stuff like that, too," I said.
"Hm… honestly a lot of this stuff is a bit beyond , Renn. I can't imagine being so twisted by fate like you are. Makes kind of happy to be just a simple owl," Lilly said.
"You speak as if you're not involved…! If all goes wrong and Vim abandons I'm going to lock myself up in your tree and never leave, making you listen to cry forever," I warned.
She paused a mont, and then laughed at . "That'd be horrible!"
"Wouldn't it…?" I said with a smile.
Lilly, like rit, had a very… black and white view of such things. It was relieving in a way to hear their opinions, not just because I could trust them enough to talk to them about it but also with how grounded they were. I wanted to scream at how worriso the knowledge I was hundreds of years late to join the Society made . Yet to Lilly and rit…? It was just sothing to sigh at and move on from. I wished I could be like them, and was trying hard to, but… well…
Obviously I wasn't doing very well at doing so.
After a bit I had to re-grab the reins, since the wagons in front of us started to slow a little. We were nearing a turn in the road, it seed. Another cart, one with only two wheels, was turning the bend right now so we needed to stop as to not run into them.
This cart was being pulled by oxen, so I needed to tug a bit harder than I would for the horses for them to realize it was ti to stop walking. The creatures were huge, and gentle, but a tad dumb. Lilly and others had ntioned they'd just… walk into the cart in front of us if we weren't careful. Almost made think they should stay up front of the group just to avoid such an issue.
"Are these what Angie is, Lilly?" I asked as I thought about it.
"Huh…? Ah, not far off I think. To they're all cows, but I'm told they're not."
"Wonder why she's small then," I wondered.
"So of us just are. Look at rit."
"Right…" I nodded as I watched the two-wheeled cart head towards us. It was being pulled by only a single horse, and looked only half full… were those pelts? Looked like it.
There were two n sitting on the driver's seat of the cart, and I was a little pleased to see how bored they looked. They weren't even staring at us oddly as they passed.
"Think we look normal…?" I whispered the question, since they were getting closer.
"Probably. We have more won amongst our group than typically seen amongst human travelers, but it's not so blatant now. Especially since rit hides in the wagons all the ti."
I perked up at that as the cart of two n rolled by. I turned to Lilly, glad that she brought such a thing up and for the opportunity to ask about it. "Speaking of that, does rit sleep a lot? I'd not noticed before till lately, but it feels as if she spends more ti sleeping than doing anything else," I asked.
She frowned at for a mont and glanced ahead, at the other wagons ahead of us. "Well… maybe? She's probably just bored, Renn. I an, I am too. I'd be even more bored if not for the fact I'm stressing out over seeing how many of my kids have ran off instead of waiting for to return," she said.
Right… "Surely not," I said.
"You'd be surprised. I'm hoping at least Branches is still there… what with Lellip and all."
"Hm… she's excited. I heard her talking about him to Nessa earlier," I said. I had heard their conversation before I'd co to join Lilly back here.
Lilly sighed. "He better work out… otherwise I'll never hear the end of it from Nebl…"
Smirking at that, I nodded. He would indeed tease her, sothing fierce, and odds are so would Vim…
I turned and leaned off the edge of the seat a bit as to see behind us and to make sure the cart, and the two n on it, were leaving us behind and doing so without issue. They were. They were already out of earshot… at least for humans.
Upon turning back around, I found rit approaching us. She approached the side of the wagon, and then I had to scoot over a bit as she climbed up next to and sat down with a huff.
"Thought you were taking a nap?" I asked.
"I had been. Angie and Lellip woke up, Angie's mother had been a quiet woman. I had been hoping she would have taken after her, obviously not. I'm glad we're almost there, though I know I'll just complain about sothing else once we are anyway," rit complained.
"You knew her mother?" I asked.
rit simply nodded.
"Was she tiny too?" I asked.
rit glanced at with a glare. "Considering they're taller than , that's quite a statent."
Woops. I smirked a little softly as Lilly chuckled beside . "If they're tiny that makes you tinier. Tiniest? Teeny tiny?" Lilly teased.
"I ca here for refuge and get this…? You're lucky it's about to rain," rit said with a huff.
Oh…? I glanced up, and sure enough found there were darker clouds heading our way. I couldn't sll the rain on the wind yet, though, which was odd.
"Why would it raining stop you from… what? Beating her up? Arguing with her?" I asked.
"If she shocks soone when they're wet it hurts them more. It's more effective, basically," Lilly told .
"Really…? Why?"
"Has to do with electricity and how it flows. Another thing I got to teach you, I guess…" rit said as she leaned against , sighing as if tired. Probably was.
"Another?" Lilly asked.
"I've a growing list of things she has to teach . Stuff like her shocking stuff, math, gymnastics..." I listed a few.
Lilly chuckled at . "Gymnatics…? What's with that?"
"Gymnastics. At least a parrot can copy what soone says, stupid owl," rit said.
"What's a parrot?" I asked.
Lilly's chuckling turned into real laughter. "She's worse than my kids!"
Worse…? "A type of bird that is known to repeat what it hears. I was basically saying she's so stupid she can't even do what a little bird-brained creature can do."
"A… bird that repeats what it hears…? Like sounds and stuff?"
"Yes. It can mimic words too. We actually have a few parrots in the Society… they visit Nasba and the rest occasionally, I've not seen them since my kingdom, though," rit said.
"Ah, I forgot about them. They're not bad, for actual birdbrains," Lilly said.
Gosh! More mbers I've never even heard of! To think we were getting ready to double if not triple our numbers and I still haven't even t all the ones who were already here! I really did have so much to do, and so many people to see still. I felt as if I'd t so many of our mbers, but in truth I've only gone with Vim on a few routes since joining him. I bet I'd not even t close to half of our mbers yet… And I'll likely be spending the next few years here up north. It almost made want to sigh and regret my decision to join Angie and Randle, but at the sa ti I felt it was needed.
Not just because I genuinely wanted to help, and also wanted to build a ho… a proper one, for myself and Vim, I also really felt that it was needed for another reason. Or well, a couple reasons.
The first and obvious one was that I believed Vim really did need a break. Light would not have suggested it otherwise. My hope was that Vim would linger with , if even for a few months at a ti, once we were settled. And in that ti period… if possible…
"What…? Why are you blushing all of a sudden?" Lilly asked as she reached over and too the reins from , as if my wild thoughts were going to distract and put us all in danger or sothing.
"No reason…" I mumbled as rit sat up, sitting away from .
"Probably thinking of Vim."
I was! But I wasn't going to admit it!
"I think she thinks of him more often when he's gone than when he's with her, which is saying sothing considering how much they flirt," Lilly teased.
"Gosh…" I mumbled. I couldn't even argue since I had been caught so blatantly!
"Want to make a bet, Lilly?" rit then asked, leaning forward a bit as to look at her.
"Sure? About what?"
"Who will consummate their partnership first? Your son and Lellip or Renn and Vim?" rit asked with a huge grin.
Gosh!
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