She hated prophecies.
Chapter Thirteen – Beann
When everyone was ready a moment later, Jade took point as she led them to bushwhack through the tall golden grain, hauling a covered Tevon in a new wind bubble. She’d set them down from flight without knowing where they were or if they were close to the road at all. Her babies took to the air, ranging around them as her silent sentries. Lavender and Carl’s presence were like a beacon in the right direction, letting her know which direction to take to meet up with the wayward rescue party.
She was grateful for her little sentries when Lilith projected an image to her from further ahead. There wasn’t a large animal roaming the grass, but there was obviously something down there from the way the stalks were moving. As she watched, she saw what was causing the movement: birds. They looked like a smaller, distant cousin of the crow to her. Maybe they were closer than that, but the colors were throwing her off because they weren’t even close to the black birds she was used to.
No, these creatures were bright gold with sparkling blue crests that matched the cloudless sky. She supposed it made sense that the surviving creatures would take on the colors of their environments, but she resented that it was all golden. Why couldn’t the wheat be silver!? She felt Lilith’s revulsion through their bond as she spotted the golden birds, only to realize that these things were probably predatory towards her babies. Since her fellacai hadn’t been spotted, she recalled them, not wanting them to be unprotected when she startled the flock.
Gesturing to the field in front of her, she asked quietly, “We’ve got a flock of golden and blue birds in the wheat ahead of us. Can anyone tell me anything about them?”
“Really? You found a flock of beann?” Tisha pushed forward, looking at Jade with shining eyes that reminded her of when a little anime child wanted something from you. When Jade looked at her curiously, she shook her head. “Of course, you don’t know what they are. Beann are fairly elusive, but harmless enough. They mostly eat grain or the ciarog--” When Jade showed no understanding at the term, she looked a little frustrated, but tried to explain further, “Little bugs with hard, shiny brown and green shells.”
Jade was trying to put two and two together. What would these ciarog be? Little shiny-shelled bugs...that sounded like a beetle to her. Shrugging, she asked, “So we can walk through them?”
Tisha looked aghast at the idea. “Walk through them? No! We have to kill them!”
Jade stared blankly at her, never having imagined that Tisha would have such a bloodthirsty side to her. Finally, she managed to ask, “Why?”
Looking exasperated by her inability to understand, Tisha expounded, “Because of their feathers! They’re super hard to find, and their feathers are in high demand! They would go perfectly with the hair of the tialon!”
Suddenly, it all made sense. Jade should have guessed that the things that would move Tisha with such vehemence would be related to fashion. Shaking her head wryly, she said softly, “Tisha, we’re not here to collect materials. We’re trying to get back to town, and quickly.” She gestured to the covered Tevon as if to make her point.
Frowning, Tisha shook her head and whined softly, “But...we’re here anyways, and we’re already going to go through them and startle them. Can’t you just wave your hand and catch a bunch?”
Jade was suddenly regretting making it look so easy to fight the animals. In truth, it had taken quite a bit of energy and concentration to dispatch the tialon, but since most of her magic wasn’t visible to the naked eye, she could understand at least partially why Tisha thought she could just ‘wave her hand and have it be done.’ Unfortunately, she wasn’t a fairy godmother with a magic wand. She could technically do some pretty fantastic stuff that would imitate it, but it wasn’t like she could make a dress appear out of thin air!
Shaking her head to clear her thoughts, Jade smiled at Tisha. “It doesn’t exactly work like that. I’m trying to conserve my magic in case there are any real threats.” Tisha looked so heartbroken that Jade felt like she’d kicked a puppy. She tried to stay strong, but she couldn’t handle those eyes staring at her so pitifully, thus relenting a moment later, “But I suppose it wouldn’t be too hard to grab a few.”
“You’re the best!” It was an instant switch as Tisha threw her arms around Jade’s neck, giving her a hug before bouncing back and beaming. Jade shook her head with a grin, knowing she’d been suckered, but not caring enough to make a big deal out of it. It was just a small indulgence, after all…
“We’ll help.” One of the tutors looked fairly excited about the prospect, and Jade observed him curiously. This was the most excited she’d seen the guy so far. She probably ought to figure out what everyone’s names were instead of calling them guards and tutors. It was only six people; not that hard, right? Whatever. There was a glint in his eye that reminded her of...oh, it was greed. These feathers must be more valuable than she thought.
Patting Tisha, she nodded and disentangled herself from the girl. “Sure, knock yourself out. Just remember we’re not stopping. We need to get to the other group as soon as possible.” She didn’t want to rain on their parade...but she had to. “Also, my fellacai won’t be scouting during this, so please be aware of your surroundings.”
“Why not?” One of the guards looked a little frightened and annoyed that she pulled her scouts back.
She raised a brow at the guard, who then avoided her gaze. “Because these are birds, and birds eat fellacai.”
“Right. Sorry.” The guard scuffed his foot against the ground, but she simply nodded to him.
“No harm done. Let’s go.” Keeping Tevon behind her in the bubble, she marched forward into the tall grass, only to stop a few feet in, annoyed. It kept springing back up and whacking her in the face when she pushed it out of the way. Summoning her sword from her ring, she hefted the weight for a moment, getting used to the feel of it. Due to her much higher strength, it was now easy to wave around, where before she struggled even to lift it.
Grinning, she began swiping at the grass in front of her, feeling the sharpness of the blade easily cut through the grain. Her sword was obviously high quality, meant to cut through tough enemies. Using it on the field was way beneath it, but she didn’t really care if she was using it like a machete. She was merely having fun swinging it around, the crisp cuts through the golden stalks were oddly satisfying to watch as they flew into the air and descended like confetti.
Bouncing cheerfully, she picked up the pace, wildly swinging her sword with glee. She had a sword! She also wasn’t getting hit in the face by the wheat anymore! “Take that, and that! Wind blade!” Mimicking what the anime shows always did, she pretended to ‘charge’ her ultimate attack, sending a blade of wind with her next swipe, which cleared the next twenty or so feet in front of her to her delight. She bounded forward, grinning widely. She was the ruler of the wheat, let none of it stand in her way!
Caught up in her delusions of grandeur, she almost forgot about the birds. It wasn’t until she heard quiet alarmed chirping up ahead that she realized they were close. She caught glimpses of the birds scattering, but it wasn’t into the sky. Instead, they chose to stay in the cover of the wheat and make their retreat on the ground. That wasn’t in the plan. Time to flush the birds! Widening her sword arc, she sent the slicing wind in almost 180 degrees in front of her as she cried out, “Fly birdies, fly!”