The Kindreds, Volume 1

The Sixteenth, Pt. 3

Now Sada was finally able to ask her question. "Is there a difference? I keep hearing of these Beasts as though they are different from animals. But in my world, they are simply the wild and dangerous ones."

Dedrei nodded as she continued walking, the caelicorn remaining by her side. "There is a difference, indeed. You know what animals are. I found you burying the bones of one just yesterday." Sada blushed harder at the memory, but the Druid just continued. "Beasts are something between animals and us, Spiritkin."

"I've been taught what Spiritkin are. It is an interesting concept."

"Is that all we are?" she mocked, but still she nodded in acknowledgment. "We have never been able to fully understand Beasts. We believe they were created in a way similar to us, though rather than a human Mothering the species, it was an animal or a Spiritkin." Dedrei's lip curled. "Abominable as it is. What resulted was a sentient creature, intelligent enough to know of our separate domains and kingdoms, but wild enough not to care."

Sada recalled what Cidinen had said to her of the creatures. "They just want to eat, kill, and..."

"And fuck," Dedrei said with a grin, and Sada blushed again. "It appears you have heard the saying. But it is not entirely true. Many Beasts are incredibly intelligent, kind, and respectful, but they are bound by an animal form, and so they do not create societies of their own. Whether that be from lack of desire or ability, I cannot say. But many coexist within Spiritkin societies as our companions and assistants."

"Wow. Elt is like a fairytale come to life. So Beasts have their own names, then?" At Dedrei's nod, Sada frowned at the caelicorn. "How do you find out what it is?"

"In the same way you learned mine, of course."

Sada scolded herself for the obvious question and stopped, going to her knees beside the filly. Then she held out a hand as an invitation. Rather than rest her muzzle in her palm like she expected, the caelicorn lowered her nose and touched the tip of her glimmering horn to Sada's fingers. Just the light brush of contact was enough to make her instincts roar to life. She gasped as a sudden space opened in her mind, like a deep breath after holding it without realizing. It felt as though a bubble formed not in her skull, but in her mind itself, expanding, building in pressure, before popping like a sigh and releasing it all. It was as though another mind had joined hers, or a new space had been unlocked within her own. One that she hadn't known existed.

Once the initial shock of awe faded, she spoke into that space within her head, sending her thoughts floating across to it. She watched as they drifted over and were received.

What is your name? she asked, and distantly she heard the filly snort. Wherever she was, it was a space set aside from the physical world she knew she was kneeling in, but couldn't feel.

As Sada silently spoke into that new, airy space, she felt something like a bridge close the gap between it and the rest of her mind. Now it wasn't a space separate to Sada, but an entirely new piece of herself. And in that foreign Mindspace that was now her own, she heard one word whispered in that enigmatic, ageless voice:

Sarana.

Her left palm tingled at the spoken name, and she jerked her hand away from the horn at the sudden burn of cold and heat. But the new space within her mind remained, and it was as though she could feel the breath of the caelicorn tickling her mind through it. But Sarana said nothing further, and Sada slowly got to her feet. Dedrei had been eyeing her curiously throughout the interaction, and now poked Sada with the butt of her staff. The ribbon tied to it tickled her arm.

"And what did you discover?" the Druid asked.

"Her name is Sarana," Sada said distantly. She was still probing at that new Mindspace, searching for anything within it. It reminded her of how after losing a tooth as a child, you'd prod and poke at it with your tongue, feeling the new gap in the flesh. It felt similar to that, only she hadn't lost something to gain the space.