It's been a few days since your acquisition of the compromising documents from the bandit camps. Things have been a bit chaotic since you showed with an injured cacaoin warrior. Apparently, it was not uncommon for Fox to strike out on his own despite repeatedly being told it was a bad idea. Regardless of whatever reckless behavior he may have had, it was still a relief for many to know that he was still alive and recovering quite well. Maybe this time, he wouldn't be so careless and keep an eye out.
As for affogato, he was none too pleased with you. It was not exactly an easy thing to convince him that the files he was looking for were lost and you had wasted your own time trying to find them. But eventually, he caved with the tacit understanding that this was not to happen again. Talk about a guy who couldn't accept even the smallest of failures. Odd that he would think this, given that he had been advisor for years from what you had heard about the man.
With the advisor successfully off your back for a while, you spent some of your free time trying to decipher the coded meanings behind the documents. One phrase was at the bottom of every single one. "May our future empire prosper." It said, ominous as ever. So, an insurrection was brewing within the cacao kingdom and some of the advisor's people were the ones spearheading this. Who exactly was the real question, after all Affogato had many disciples and each was nearly impossible to truly tell apart from one another. And it seemed that he himself was oblivious to this fact, otherwise it would have been stopped in its tracks long ago. Figuring that you would be doing him a favor, you decide to try and figure out who it could be.
Hours go by, and a few suspects had come up. The codenames made it nigh impossible to deduce who exactly it could be, especially considering you hadn't even made it halfway through all of the files. One name in particular kept appearing, who seemed to be the ringleader in this whole insurrection plot. "Snake" they were called, and they seemed to be extremely wordy and deliberate with how they spoke. You looked over the suspects again and again, but none ever seemed to fully line up with Snake's approach to diplomacy. It hurt to just think about it, who could this mystery man be?!
It was when Caramel Arrow came in that shook you out of your dazed investigating. "Y/N, are you alright? It's the middle of lunch-time, you usually show up when that starts." She asked, concerned about your mental wellbeing. You quickly shake your head, look at her, and reply "Wha? Yeah, I'm fine. Just... Aghh... Trying to figure out these documents is hurting my head." "Maybe put all that away and come with me for lunch? It's the least I can do, you've been working hard ever since you and I went on that search for the files that also ended up with us rescuing Fox." She said in response, a slight smile forming on her lips. You ponder for a moment, before heaving a sigh. "Alright, yeah. Lunch sounds good, just give me a moment to put all this away." You tell her, quickly putting all the documents into a bag you would stash under your bed.
Arriving to the mess hall, it was emptier than usual. Only a scattered few watchers and priests were present, both factions posted up on opposite sides of the hall. A clear disconnect between the Luxury and Practicality of the kingdom was present, why was not clear and it seemed it never would be clear. Whatever the case, Caramel Arrow was instead focused on you. "You're quite the up and comer, aren't you? Despite that little mishap with the hideout, you've made a noticeable impact on our operations in the area." She noted as the two of you grabbed plates for the food. "Am I now? News to me, I've just been doing what comes natural. Not like you would've done anything different, heh heh." You reply with a hint of awkwardness, the daily crop of bitter jellies being served yet again. At this point, you had gotten used to their less than stellar taste and appreciated the nutritional benefits they provided compared to regular jellies.
"Don't kid yourself, Y/N. He may not say it, but the Second Watcher definitely thinks you're more of a help than a hindrance, and that's more than can be said for some of the other watchers me and him have seen in our time here." Caramel Arrow replied as you two sat down and began to eat. "Hm. Next, you'll be telling me that Dark Cacao thinks I'm the Dragonchild. You know, that creature from the famous tale." You jokingly comment, taking another bite of bitterness. "I'm serious, Y/N. We think you're great and that you can do great things. You've got your shortcomings, but we're here to help compensate for them. That's the point of a warrior brotherhood, no?" She responded promptly, finishing off her plate in the process. "I guess so. Well hey, I got patrols I need to be doing so I better go. Talk to you later?" You asked with a twinge innocence. The humble nod from the first watcher was all that you needed to see as you put your plate away and went to grab your stuff for the day's patrol.
That is all well and good, indeed. Things are going quite well, wouldn't you agree? In any case, I have another section of the Tale of the Dragonchild for you. I think you're going to be most interested by it.
"This arrangement would continue for some time. The old man gave the spawn protection away from the harsh winter winds with spare blankets and the cave's natural formations. Whatever food the man managed to procure, either from hardy plants or from whatever prey he had hunted, he split it with the spawn. In time, the spawn would know many sensations. It felt hungry when the old man didn't feed it for a while, and felt satisfied when it got food. When the old man petted the spawn, it felt a nice fuzzy feeling inside itself. Truly, life was good."
"Then... reality came knocking.On a trip back from a successful hunt, the old man was followed. Not by bandits, those kinds of gangs would not form for quite some time, but instead by something far more unreasonable. Wild creme wolves, dire and starved thanks to the dragon's doing, would pursue the old man and attack him in the cave. Wanting to protect the spawn, the old man fought with all his strength. He may have been nearing the end of his active days, but he still found it within him to beat back these feral beasts."
"But this defense of himself and the spawn left the old man wounded badly. Due to his old bones, he had to make it to the nearest village so that they could heal him. But... that would leave the spawn vulnerable to attack in the event the creme wolves returned. Knowing that the villagers might react poorly to the spawn, he grabbed it anyway and began to go as fast as his legs could carry the two of them. The spawn once again felt the bitter cold and began to emit its squeals again, serving only to further motivate the old man to try and make it before he died of his wounds."
YOU ARE READING
Kindred Spirits
RomanceA humble Villager, you were someone fairly unremarkable. When the cold biting winter of Dark Cacao strikes once again, you decide to take up a post as a watcher in order to provide for your people. It is there that you shall meet someone who would c...
