The Book of Many People

Off (The Deer Puns Chapter)

Celestar didn't really have the attention span of a turkey on drugs. He just had an incredible ability to multitask and distract himself when necessary. It's how he dealt with difficult things.

[Celestar: "Oh no, my deer friend died."
Five seconds later
Celestar:  "Ooh, shiny thing!"
Meanwhile
Celestar's subconscious: "Oh, my poor deer friend. I'm so sad that you died! Rest in peace."
Later
Celestar: "Oh, my poor deer friend. You had a good life. Moving on
now."]

This time around, Celestar knew that he had to distract himself again to keep from crying. Nalifrom...

He'd meant to go straight to the village. He really had. If he'd done what he meant, then he might have already found Nalifrom. But Celestar hadn't; he'd stopped and picked up Vraide and Brith and Tenn and Foss and Yute and Kaia, because he'd known that Nalifrom would want him to. But what if Nalifrom was hurt, or in some sort of trouble? Time could be of the essence, and Celestar wouldn't even know it.

He resolved to leave right after breakfast. Kaia was a brave, resourceful woman. Tenn had seen the apple trees and the chickens. Yute knew what to do in case anyone got a fever. Foss was strong. Brith was good with that knife he had, and Vraide, as he'd been informed, was calm and clear-headed. They'd be fine on their own here. He didn't have to stay.

While his brain was processing this, Celestar's hands were busy cooking eggs and apple chunks over the fire. It was an old recipe Nalifrom had developed a long time ago for people who weren't used to a good, solid meal. He barely realized it was done in time to not burn it.

Nevay, resourceful little bastard, had found a stack of plates, so Celestar served and everyone ate. They shoveled the food into their mouths with their fingers, because Celestar didn't own forks or spoons. Somehow, giving them tiny knives did not seem like a good idea. (Shank.) No one seemed to mind. Vraide woke up in the middle of it all, feeling much better, and after thanking Celestar profusely, he accepted his own plate and inhaled it with much gusto.

When he was less hungry, Celestar asked, "Hey, Kaia. You think you and your people will be alright if I suddenly just disappear into thin air for a while?"

"Actually," said Kaia, "I wanted to ask about that, if that's okay."

"Sure," said Celestar.

Kaia finished the last of her food (it was delicious) and said, "Everyone will be fine if you go. We've faced worse before, and we thank you for bringing us out of it. I don't know how much longer Vraide would have survived if not for you."

Celestar waved a hand. "It's what any decent person would do."

Kaia blinked. "Truly?"

"Yes," said Celestar. "Of course. Who would leave somebody to that?"

"You're a very good man," said Kaia. 

Celestar shrugged, feeling uncomfortable. "I guess."

"Can I come with you, when you go?" Kaia asked.

And now it was Celestar's turn to blink. "What?"

"You're going to Matiquestinn, yeah?"

"Yes."

"My husband... My husband is there. I should like to see him again. Please, I wouldn't make any trouble for you-"

Celestar shushed her with a hand. "You're on."

"Truly?" Kaia's eyes were really big when she was surprised.

"Yes," said Celestar. "You know what the world's like, and I don't, and Nevay says he's out of date on these things. I'm gonna need someone to help me not die out there. But as long as you tell me what's going on, I can probably get us out of any trouble we get into."

"Thank you," said Kaia. "When do we leave?"

At this, her people started to protest. "Kaia, you can't leave!" Yute said. "After Lore, you're all we have left," Foss said sadly. Brith and Vraide and Tenn sat together, looking at her with mournful eyes, but acknowledging that she had made her choice. Or so Celestar hoped.

"I'm sorry," said Kaia, "but I hope that when I go, I go to get him back."

"I can't promise that we'll find him," said Celestar, who was wondering when he got this responsible, "but I can promise that we will look everywhere we can."

"Thank you," whispered Kaia, and then she was sobbing, they were all sobbing, like a mother and her children torn apart. Celestar wondered how old she was compared to them.

Nevay approached him and gently laid a hand on his shoulder. "You have done a good thing, Wielder," he said. "But I am afraid that it will not be as easy for you as you may think. You are right in that you know little of the world; there is much yet to be explained."

"Thank you, Nevay," said Celestar, grateful for his strange sword's support. All of a sudden his expression brightened.

"Hey, I get to learn about Talestor! Nalifrom would never bring me newspapers or anything about what's going on in Talestor, and I have no idea why."

"Soon you may," came Nevay's wry remark.

"That's encouraging," snorted Celestar. "What, is the land completely infested with hungry dragons or something?"

Nevay hummed. "That may not be as far from the truth as you think. Depends on how you see things."

"Didn't you say you were out of date on current events?"

Nevay shrugged. "The last time I was awake, it was two hundred years ago, which means that many of the people I knew are likely still alive. I have a hard time seeing them having a change of heart."

"Why don't you just tell me what happened?" asked Celestar.

"Later," said Nevay. "First we must leave the forest once again."

Celestar turned to Kaia. "Let's pack."

And so they did. They found a couple of newish leather satchels with nice, thick straps, and some rope to wrap around their waists should the need ever arise. Celestar took a bow and a quiver of arrows that he sort-of knew how to use. Kaia asked to pack medicine, so they brought an emergency field kit Nalifrom had put together one day for no particular reason. Celestar was struck with the sudden thought that he may have actually foreseen something like this happening.

Just what was going on with his friend?

Other than that, they made sure to pack some food and plenty of water, so they wouldn't die of natural causes.

They said their good-byes, and lazy freeloader Nevay shifted back into sword form so he wouldn't have to walk. Celestar didn't mind, of course. He was a little concerned about conversation, but the saber seemed to be able to communicate well enough.

"Good luck," said Vraide, as they were leaving. "And bring him home."

"I will," said Kaia at the same time Celestar said, "We'll do our best."

So that was that.

Author's Note: Welcome back to Aer'denna, everyone!

Yeah.

So.

About the deer...

I just couldn't resist, okay? I had to. It's a consequence of making the puns. Never fret- I didn't take that photo, but I did find it in the Creative Commons collection, so no issues with copyright there.

Thanks for reading, everybody. If you liked this chapter, please, let me know! Cheers.