by Quil Carter
Ben remembered seeing the fire become a dark blue colour when he had been detoxing. It had looked eerily beautiful when he had seen it, almost transfixing. Kind of like the forest itself.
Ben looked around the shrouded woods and felt a sting inside of his heart. He wished that he could show Tav how beautiful this place was. Teal had lived here all of his life so it wasn’t special to him, Ben had no one he could experience this world with.
“I wonder what Tav is doing right now?” he said to himself absentmindedly, his already sore heart gave another pang of longing. He hadn’t even been away from Tav for that long but his memory seemed faded already. Like coming to this strange land had distorted all of the time he had lived in his own world. It was sad but in a way Ben was glad for it – it made Tav’s absence hurt less.
“They’ll think I’m dead too, huh? Like I thought Erick was dead?” Ben glanced up at Teal, who was avoiding eye contact again.
After a few tense moments between the two Teal finally gave him a small nod. He was staring at his half-squirrel, twisting it back and forth slowly as the flames seared its browning meat.
Ben swore, he brought his charred squirrel half out of the flames and violently ripped an arm off. “It won’t be a mystery like it was with Erick. I made it quite clear I was going nuts when I was in my bedroom with that box. He probably thinks I went out to off myself.” The guilt was almost overwhelming; he couldn’t believe he had left Tav that way. He hadn’t even had a chance to say goodbye. “Tav didn’t deserve that, Teal. He was a good kid. He doesn’t deserve having to go through that. Damn, I hope Emett or David moves in with him, helps him pay rent and stuff.”
“They will, your friends seemed like nice people,” Teal said, trying to sound as reassuring as possible. “Tav will be okay.”
Ben took another bite of his food; his face creased in the thoughts that dangled like anchors off of his heart. “How long will this all take? Just a quick run to Garas and I can go home?”
For a brief moment Ben saw Teal’s mouth pull down but as quickly as it came it disappeared and a reassured smile took its place. “Sure, that’s – that’s what we have to do then you can go home.”
Ben stared at Teal and chewed his food; Teal withered under his gaze before dropping his own. He scratched his head and tugged nervously on a red-tipped lock of hair. “Maybe if you like it here you can stay though.”
Even though in his previous life he had been a drug dealer and a bit of a hard ass, Ben couldn’t bring himself to tell Teal that wasn’t going to happen. Instead of breaking the heart of this seemingly lonely hibrid he instead just shrugged nonchalantly. “Well, we’ll see what happens, right? Why don’t we just work towards keeping me alive before I make that decision?”
Teal’s face brightened which made Ben shake his head. What a lonely little guy. If this kid could survive in these woods and on his own maybe Ben would survive until it was time for him to go back to his world.
Because he didn’t want to leave Tav… there was no way he could. Sure, one day he was supposed to go back to Albania but that wasn’t for a few years. He would still be there when Ben got back.
As his mind filled with thoughts he took a glance at the forest around him. The thick woods were dark now, though the opal-like oak trees seemed to glow in the moonlight. It gave the woods an almost fairytale look, but to Ben they just seemed ominous and spooky.
But there was light in the darkness, literally. Ben could see tiny sparks which he soon realized were fireflies. Small little bugs that, once Ben focused his eyes on them, were everywhere. Not just the usual yellows and greens either, he could see blue lights, red, and even purple.
The forest was beautiful – everything was beautiful, even the damn hibrid was rather attractive… for a nonhuman anyway. But it just lent itself to the fact that Ben didn’t belong here; he felt out of place and lonely. Oddly, he didn’t feel this way during the day, night seemed to draw out those unsure feelings inside of him. He decided to drown it out with a bit of silverwine in hopes that it would help push the feelings down. But as he drank it, seemed the feelings were winning.
I’ll be okay. Sure, I can’t explain any of this but… if I can eventually go home to Tav, I can handle it. In my previous life I was a drug addict and not that great of a person – maybe it would be kind of nice to do some good?
And being able to see Erick would be a bonus; I’ll certainly be kicking his ass when I see him though.
“Tav sounds like a good guy,” Teal said. Ben looked up at Teal who was staring into his wooden cup; Teal shifted awkwardly in his spot. “I’ve never had a real friend before. I – I wouldn’t want to leave a friend either.”
Another wave of guilt laid claim to Ben’s insides. “Not a single friend? How is that possible? Aren’t there any hibrids your age where you live? You said you had some pretty big towns in Alcove, villages, holds, all of that.”
Teal’s Adam’s apple went up and down as he swallowed down that comment. “I don’t live in a town or a village; I live alone in the forest,” he admitted in a small voice. He looked around the woods and pursed his lips together. “I’ve been living here, in the Silverwoods, for the past six months; the Forest of Jare before that, and other places around the south and northern holds mostly.”
“Alone?” Ben raised an eyebrow at him. Teal nodded looking uncomfortable.
He must not like talking about himself, Ben thought. Well, that was too bad. This demigod told him all about me and if I’m going to be around this guy it’s only fair I know some shit about him.
“Don’t you have family?”
The kid shrunk down more; it looked like he was about to slide off of the log he was sitting on. Ben was sure he even saw the tips of his ears redden. “I’ve lived in the forest alone, for a very long time. I kept to myself mostly… before you.”
Ben’s lips moved to ask him the next obvious question: where his family was. But he decided against it. Teal seemed nervous and timid; he didn’t want to do anything to crush him emotionally.
“Sounds like a lonely existence,” Ben said instead.
Teal let out a breath, making the curls on his head fly up. “Kinda,” he answered.
“Why didn’t you ever find someone to live with or adopt you or something?”
Teal’s ears reddened even more. “I tried once but he wanted things in return so I escaped.”
Ben stared at him for a moment before it clicked, suddenly he felt like the biggest asshole in both of their worlds. “I’m sorry, I was just trying to get to know–”
“No, no don’t feel bad, I’m – I’m okay,” Teal said flustered, the red on his ears had travelled down to his cheeks. “Sorry, I just… well, I don’t want to lie.”
“Still… I’m…”
“It’s okay, please…” Teal looked at him almost pleading. “Don’t let it stop you from talking. I like it when you talk.”
Ben felt swell after swell of pity for the poor kid. The forests around them might be beautiful, this world might be beautiful, but it was obvious from just talking to Teal that… some things didn’t change. It seemed even worse to have those types of things happen to such a nice kid, though it might explain some of his odd mannerisms.
Ben felt compelled to cheer the poor kid up and he knew just how to do it. “Well, I’ll be your friend, Teal.”
Sure enough, Teal’s face lit up. “Thanks, Ben,” he said. A big smile appeared on his face, showing off every one of his little pointed teeth. “I was hoping we could be friends. It’ll make the next while go a lot better. I – I was really hoping you wouldn’t hate me… for – for having to bring you here.”
Ben shrugged. “I’m probably still in shock or the silverwine is hitting me hard. Either way, if Erick can survive here so can I. He’s my brother anyway; it’s my job to stop the asshole.”
“Thank you, Ben,” Teal said, sighing like a big weight has been lifted off of his shoulders. “I’ll protect you; I might not look capable, bu
t I am. The demigod chose me for a reason; I’ll take on anyone.”
They stayed up for another hour, before Teal brought out a glass jar of white powder he called shadowmask powder. He dusted it into the fire making it turn a sapphire blue. They then retreated into the tent. Ben was exhausted, and still weak and sore from the detoxing. It didn’t take him long to fall asleep. Thus ending his first real day in Alcove.
8
Ben relaxed by the fire with a pointed stick and entertained himself by prodding the embers. Teal milled around behind him, tidying up around the camp and telling Ben various stories of his adventures in Alcove.
It seemed that the poor kid had been alone since he was seven years old. Ben had made a continuing point not to ask Teal any personal questions out of respect for Teal’s emotional state, but he listened intently to his stories to try and get an idea as to just who his new friend was.
This current story was about Teal mugging several travellers when he was thirteen years old. Apparently thievery was one of his favourite things though he never missed a point to insist that he only did it during the winter time when he was starving, or several times when he was sick and needed to buy ingredients to make medicine.
“And I dropped down from the tree while they were sleeping and their damn dog woke up!” Teal said in an excited tone. He appeared beside Ben and handed him a small cloth bag full of dried fruit. “And you know what the dog did?”
“What?” Ben asked, already chewing on a piece of candy pear. He was glad that the fruit in Alcove was somewhat the same.
“Wagged his gods-be-damned tail at me!” Teal laughed. He sat down beside Ben and dug out his own piece of fruit. “He had recognized me when I was in Lampton, when I had fed him that little bit of bacon. He watched me with barely an interest as I lifted those two elves’ coin purses, and didn’t make a peep when I stole their sack of food either!”
Ben chuckled at this and shook his head. He loved Teal’s stories; he had even shared a few of his own. “I used to shoplift from stores but I’ve never pickpocketed someone. You’ll have to fit that into my teaching schedule.”
“I will!” Teal grinned. He reached in and grabbed another piece of candied fruit, before pausing and giving Ben a devious smile.
Ben narrowed his eyes in return. He might’ve just started to get to know Teal but he knew enough of his friend already to not trust that look.
“I should take you hunting today…” Teal said, his voice trailing but his grin remained.
Hunting? Today?
“I have a better idea!” Ben said in an equally excited voice.
Teal’s face lit up in anticipation
“How about we don’t?” Ben exclaimed.
Teal scowled and lightly pushed him. “Come on, I think it would be a great idea. I’m not talking about hunting lapin or audechts –” Whatever those were, Ben thought. “– just the black squirrels; the meat that you’ve been eating. Wouldn’t it be nice to have some fresh meat tonight?”
Ben sighed and looked down at his sack of dried fruit. “This is fine; the meat, cheese, and oat bread is fine too. Why can’t…”
Teal’s smile disappeared and Ben automatically felt guilty. So with a sigh and a roll of his eyes he nodded. “Alright, Teal, you win – we can go hunting.”
“Great!” Teal jumped to his feet and immediately disappeared behind Ben without another word. The energetic hibrid could be heard behind Ben doing something in the forest but Ben wasn’t sure what. Teal didn’t need Ben for whatever he was doing so Ben went back to poking the fire. If he was going to be hunting squirrels he might as well save his energy for that.
Teal called him from the forest about two hours later. Ben grudgingly got up, his joints still aching from being bedridden for the past week and his body weak from detoxing. It wasn’t near as bad as yesterday though and as he followed Teal’s voice into the woods he started to become more confident with his energy level. His new hibrid body was a lot stronger than his human body; he was starting to realize this more and more.
Teal handed Ben a spear. Just a long, thick branch taken from a silver oak, the top of it whittled to a point. He had one himself and was also carrying a burlap sack that was tucked into the belt he had around his waist.
“Finally a weapon,” Ben said gleefully. As he followed Teal into the woods he found himself balancing the spear with the palm of his hand, moving his body around in order to keep it balanced.
Teal looked behind him and chuckled; he had his dagger in his hand as he sharpened his own spear. “Don’t impale yourself, unless you have another brother on earth I can bring to replace you.” Then he looked in all directions, especially above them. “You won’t need to do much, just be another set of eyes and learn. Watch how I move, be as quiet as possible. The more meat we get in you the better.”
Ben snorted at the innuendo in that comment, and also knowing it would go completely over his new friend’s head. “So you want me to just watch out for the squirrels?” Ben asked, coughing into his hand to hide the smile.
Teal gave him a serious nod and started taking his hard sole leather shoes off. Ben did the same assuming it was something to make them quieter. “That’s right. If you see one, just make a clicking noise, don’t speak. Click and point, and I’ll take care of the rest. If one is near and you think you can make the shot, do it. Just make sure I’m far, far away from you since I’m sure your aim is awful.” Teal smirked. Ben gave him a glare but decided not to take the bait.
As Ben watched Teal walk through the woods he had to admire how stealthy the hibrid was. Teal stepped over the rocks and green plants around them like he was the weight of a feather. Ben tried to mimic Teal’s stealthy movements but it was like comparing a mouse to an elephant. While he walked tree branches snapped under his shoes and he tripped several times over moss that only had the appearance of being solid. By the time they got to the trees Teal had eyed up, Ben was sure his stomping had scared away every animal in this forest.
“Hey, I see some!” Ben exclaimed. He was so thrilled with seeing something alive that he had forgotten to keep his voice down.
Ben eagerly pointed up to the trees, feeling his pulse quicken with excitement.
The squirrels looked even uglier alive than when they were dead: beady black eyes and incisors an orangey-yellow; they also had oddly huge arms, more like a kangaroo’s than a little rat’s. Ben was enchanted with his own hibrid mind when he found his mouth watering with anticipation. He had no qualms about eating squirrel; on the contrary those little buggers had tasted great on the skewer.
“Let’s get ‘em!” Ben hissed. Teal looked over at him, seemingly perplexed but happy that Ben’s attitude about hunting had taken a complete turn.
“They’re up too high, the branches are too thin that far up,” Teal explained in a kind and patient tone. “We’ll need to find some lower to the ground, and I’ll give it a try then.”
Ben nodded and, quieter now, he continued to follow Teal. Then, after almost half an hour of walking quietly around the forest, Teal stopped beside a large collection of orange mushrooms and brought out a dagger he had sheathed to his belt.
“These will taste great with the squirrel,” he said happily, quickly throwing the mushrooms into the bag. He opened his mouth to say something else when he stopped. Ben had heard it too, a crack of a tree limb above them.
Sure enough, directly above them were three black squirrels about twenty feet up, every one of them glaring down at the hibrids as if they knew the two had cruel intentions.
Then Teal pushed the dagger into Ben’s hand, not taking his eyes off of the glaring rodents. Ben saw his eyebrow give a twitch before there was a thunk as Teal dropped the burlap sack he had brought on their trip.
To Ben’s astonishment, Teal let out a small cat-like growl.
Ben put his hand over his mouth to hide his smile. It was a strange thing to see, a person actually growl, and in a way it was kind of cute. It wasn’t a low-throated gro
wl like a lions but one a house cat would make when it spotted another tom through the window.
Teal, thankfully, didn’t notice Ben’s facial expression. “Finish cutting the mushrooms and put them into the bag. If you see a squirrel close, try and kill it and put it in the bag too.”
“But the branches aren’t for ten more feet,” Ben said as he examined the tree more closely. “How are you getting up there?”
A smile split Teal’s face. He sheathed his spear in the holster that he had originally been using for his sword. His green eyes became bright. “We’re hibrids, Ben. These claws aren’t just for show.”
With that, Teal stealthily jumped over to one of the silver oaks, and, to Ben’s amazement, he sunk his claw-like fingernails into the bark and started to climb up the tree.
Ben could hear the distinctive sound of claws on wood as his friend climbed higher and higher up the oak. He seemed to carry his own weight easily, but Ben suspected he was making it look easier than it was.
The forest canopy above them erupted in chatter as the squirrels talked nervously amongst themselves. They seemed to have spotted Teal as he climbed closer.
When Teal reached a branch that he had deemed acceptable, he grabbed onto it and swung his body until he was standing on it. Teal stood on the branch, using a limb above him as balance, and took his spear out.
Ben did want to trust his new friend’s abilities in his mind he was already making plans as to what he would do if his friend fell to his death or accidently impaled himself.
Teal held onto the top branch and quietly inched his way closer to the oblivious squirrels.
Ben found himself holding his breath. Teal was almost three-storeys up in the air, with thick branches all around him. He was staring at the squirrels, an intense look of concentration on his face. It was like a cat stalking a bird, but Ben wasn’t sure if this kid would land on his feet.
Then, with incredible speed, Teal grabbed his spear and flung it at the nearest squirrel. All of the squirrels saw him and scattered, but one was too slow. The spear impaled it right through the gut, causing further panic throughout the group.