Chapter Text
It was nearing midnight when Lumeo chittered something to Tarik, pointing with his paw. “We have a mission, Lumeo,” Tarik said softly, knowing his words would hurt his otter. It broke his heart to have to say them in the first place. But . . . if they didn’t reach the Golden Lion before the Conquerors . . . Erdas might be lost.
Lumeo frowned, chittering. Tarik glanced at the group. They were tired from days of mostly sleepless travel as they traveled in the open. Their spirits were low and that wasn’t something that Tarik liked. “But are you sure that’ll work?” Lumeo gave him an offended look and climbed down to the ground, racing off.
Tarik looked in the direction his friend was running, longing filling his heart. He knew why Lumeo wanted to go there, beyond trying to raise the group’s spirits. He knew he himself would do almost anything to see them again. But, that simply wasn’t something afforded to them.
And he had people here who needed him. Tarik gazed at his group: Conor, the kind, caring shepherd who summoned Briggan the Wolf; Rollan, the jokester street urchin with a good soft heart, even if he enclosed in in a tough shell, who had summoned Essix the Falcon; and Irtike, the Okaihee girl who had lost her mother and was determined to take up the fight.
The group continued to walk. Irtike and Snake Eyes were in the lead with Conor and Briggan helping where they could. Rollan and Tarik followed their steps as exactly as they could. The only words to break up the otherwise peaceful sounds of the night were slight instructions on the path.
It had been some time since Lumeo left when Tarik suddenly looked out in a seemingly random direction. There was a happy sensation he hadn’t felt since . . . in quite some time. It spread a gentle warmth through his chest, almost but not quite replacing the sunny sensation that Lumeo’s presence brought.
“Tarik, is everything okay?” Conor asked, glancing back at him. Tarik realized he had stopped in place instead of continuing to move. Then Conor’s eyes narrowed in concern. “Where’s Lumeo?” Tarik pointed in the direction where he could sense his otter. “He ran off that way.”
“Why?” Irtike asked, “That’s not the way to the oasis.” Tarik shrugged. “He found something he wanted to explore.” Conor glanced at him. “Should we go after him? I don’t like him being away from the group . . . He could get hurt or lost!” Tarik nodded.
“Only if the group is in consensus,” Tarik said, “I’m sure he’ll return . . . eventually.” Rollan nodded. “Let’s not take the risk. He’s a brave otter, but . . . who knows what monsters the Conquerors have out here.” Irtike shrugged as if not caring. “Alright,” Tarik said, stepping up to the front. “This way.”
It was a clear, cloudless night. The moon shone bright in the sky, guiding their way. Tarik set their pace at a fast walk. They would get a break when they reached their destination after all. Besides, as good as the detour would hopefully be for them, it would still take precious time.
It took a long while before there was the sound of gently rushing water and the plants started to grow taller. That meant there was a water source here. They followed the sound into a dip in the land.
The pond looked beautiful in the dark. The moon reflected off the surface, so big and beautiful. Except, it was shaking as it was disturbed by a presence in it. A shadow in the night performing underwater stunts just for the fun of it. Lumeo suddenly twisted out of the water, looking over at Tarik, sending a burst of sun into his chest.
“You know, you worried the team quite a bit, Lumeo,” Tarik said, trying to sound stern. But it failed as his otter shot towards him like an arrow aimed at his heart. Lumeo leaped out of the water and straight into his arms. He gave Tarik a somewhat apologetic, but not really, look.
Lumeo then hopped back into the water, swimming towards a patch of aquatic plants maybe halfway around the edge of the pond. Tarik smiled. “Stay back for a moment.” Conor, Rollan, and Irtike glanced at each other in confusion. But they stayed where they were, trusting in Tarik.
“Look,” Conor whispered, pointing to the shady part of the grass. Multiple otter heads poked out of the rippling water. The otters eyed Tarik as he started to gently splash water over his dirty forearms. They exchanged looks, their little mouths moving. Lumeo nodded, talking with them. Then they plunged underwater.
Water suddenly splashed Tarik’s face, somewhat startling him despite expecting something similar to happen. Lumeo tackled his head from the back, unbalancing him. He fell face first into the water. Then some things landed on his back, forcing him to submerge completely.
But they soon moved off, all but one. Tarik got his bearings and sat up in the water, spluttering a bit. Lumeo was atop his head. He smiled down at Tarik and chittered something.
“Alright, you were right about that,” Tarik said, “But was the dunking really necessary?” One of the otters—he looked vaguely familiar—splashed a small wave of water at Tarik. Lumeo then jumped off Tarik’s head, landing with a splash, turning to innocently look at the man.
“Is that his family?” Irtike asked. “That’s not possible,” Rollan scoffed, “Lumeo’s a spirit animal.” Tarik glanced at them, remembering when he himself had similar thoughts. That spirit animals couldn’t have been regular animals before they became adults. It was an unsettling thought, one that he only adjusted to after some help.
“Where do you think spirit animals come from?” Irtike said. “I thought they came from the stars,” Conor said quietly. “They don’t exist until you summon them. The Great Beasts excepted of course,” Rollan said flatly.
“I heard from my mother that spirit animals once had lives before they were summoned, but some unfortunate accident befell them and being a spirit animal was their second chance,” Irtike said.
“You’re close, Irtike. All spirit animals were regular animals once. But upon reaching adulthood, they were summoned to be a spirit animal. No unfortunate accidents involved. Only processes beyond our understanding,” Tarik said.
“Of course, I only know this is Lumeo’s family because . . . I’ve been here before and he introduced me. It’s why they nabbed me,” Tarik added, “Most Greencloaks just speculate on where their animals came from. The animals don’t exactly talk about their pasts after all and . . . most Greencloaks don’t run into their spirit animal’s family.”
Tarik felt a pang of sadness as he recalled the last time he was here. It had been with Hanzan and Lishay. Lumeo had led them here for a break after completing their mission. It had been a wonderful moment for the two— er three of them.
Now Hanzan and Zhosur were dead and Lishay . . . was hunting Conquerors in Zhong with Zhamin. Something he still didn’t understand. How did Zhamin become her spirit animal? It was a blessing he was grateful for, but one he wished he understood better, beyond just them being close to each other.
The familiar looking otter and Lumeo swam back over to the rest of the otters. They looked at Tarik, then the other humans. They nodded, mischievous expressions on their faces. A group dived underwater once more.
Otters leaped out of the water, tackling Tarik back under. “Woah!” He was briefly held under by the otters, but then he fought his way free, resurfacing. “Is this seriously necessary?” Tarik asked. The otters glanced at him, tilting their heads. Playing innocent.
The familiar looking otter from earlier splashed Tarik in the face, giving off an otter laugh. Lumeo and another otter tackled Tarik’s head back into the water, only for him to resurface a moment later. The familiar looking otter splashed water into his face, not even waiting for him to recover.
“Lumeo, which one is he?” Tarik asked, pointing at the familiar looking otter. He was obviously one of the ones Tarik had met on his previous visits. Lumeo chittered something, smiling. Tarik was a bit surprised. He hadn’t expected Crash to still be here. Most otters lived shorter lives than Lumeo after all.
The raft of otters slowly came closer to Tarik, keeping the pups back at the plants with two otter guards. Maybe half of the raft seemed perfectly fine with Tarik, and he spotted ‘familiar’ faces amongst them. The other half gave him a cautious look, the same one all the otters, minus Lumeo, were training on the children.
“I think they want to come closer,” Conor softly murmured. He shifted into a comfortable sitting position, then remained still, like a statue. Rollan and Irtike watched him, exchanging looks. “Try not to spook them,” Tarik said, “Last time . . . let’s just say certain friends of mine are no longer welcome here at all.”
Conor slowly brought his fingers to the water, making small ripples on the surface. A small head peeked up, its eyes sparkling with curiosity. She studied the boy for a few moments. Then she came closer, trusting in Tarik and Lumeo’s choice of friends.
“Oh. Hello there,” Conor quietly said, looking at the otter. She came up to his hand, poking it with a paw. Then she poked it with her nose. “That tickles!” he quietly exclaimed. She poked his hand with her nose again.
“You’re awfully good at this. Were you a trainer in your past life?” Rollan quietly asked. He couldn’t help a smile at the otters’ antics. Conor offered a smile. “I am a shepherd. Animals just need a little patience.”
Rollan and Irtike carefully put their hands in the water. An otter came up to investigate. He came over to the bag Snake Eyes was in. He smacked it with a paw. “Hey, no!” Irtike protested, “That’s not a rock.” Snake Eyes let out a small squeal, poking his head out to give a blind glare at the otter.
That quickly turned out to be a mistake. The otter grabbed Snake Eyes, retreating to Irtike’s hands with the mole rat. She quickly grabbed Snake Eyes, securing him before the otter could take him away. He tilted his head. Then he turned around, looking at the mole rat. He swam back up and touched noses with the mole rat as if in apology.
“Oh so the rat is better at otters than I am?” Rollan asked. Lumeo snickered as if making fun of Rollan. The boy’s hand was still shaking slightly. He couldn’t keep it still.
“Crush, go terrorize Rollan,” Tarik grumbled. The otter was insistently splashing him and trying to sink him. Crash looked up at him, then followed his gaze to Rollan. A mischievous smile appeared on his face and he nodded, diving under the water. Tarik suddenly wondered if he had done such a good thing after all.
“At least Meilin would be as bad at this as I am,” Rollan said. His smile faded a little. His heart constricted. Tarik wanted to comfort him, and moved to do so, the otters apparently completely at ease with his movements. Only Lumeo's family had things to say about that. Namely no.
Tarik was tackled back into the water and held there while otters moved their paws through the water to ‘splash attack’ him from underwater. A few were not nearly as careful, actually scratching him with their claws. Not that it hurt much compared to his normal adventures.
Tarik resurfaced in time to see Crash soar out of the water, using Rollan’s hand as a spring pad. He climbed all over Rollan’s face and shoulders, much as Lumeo had back in Arctica, and poked the boy with his wet face.
Then Crash started pushing at Rollan’s head. ‘Ut oh.’ “Hey!” Rollan protested. Lumeo swam over, tackling Rollan’s face, causing him to lose his balance. He crashed into the water and another otter helped Lumeo and Crash push the boy deeper into the water. Yeah, Tarik should’ve known better than to expect good of the menace otter.
Two otters were ganging up on the resurfacing Rollan. Other otters were still terrorizing Tarik. The otter near Irtike glanced behind him and then pushed Irtike’s hands and Snake Eyes back to shore, sheltering there with them. The otter by Conor’s hands playfully splashed him, and he returned the favor, getting initiated into the splash war.
Conor crouched on the shore and splashed the otters with his hands, clearly not wanting to risk hurting them. In return, the otters didn’t pull him into their pond and just splashed him from within it.
Tarik meanwhile didn’t get a choice as he was in the pond and the otters refused to let him leave. Rollan was floundering his way back towards the shore, but also seemed to be enjoying the otters swimming around him and trading splash attacks.
Two otters remained on pupsitting duty, trying to keep them from joining the chaos. When Tarik looked over at them, he swore the pups were cheering on the splash war. One of them for him, one of them for Conor and Rollan, and the other two cheering on their family.
“Remind me to never splash fight Lumeo!” Rollan yelped, “This is pure chaos!” Tarik helped right him in the water. “Well, normally with less otters, it is more of a fair fight,” he said, seriously, “and thus less chaos.” Rollan glanced at him startled. “You actually splash fight Lumeo?”
Tarik declined to answer that, especially as Crash chittered in protest and splashed water right into his eyes. Tarik must’ve offended him with the fewer otters comment. Or maybe he just wanted to take advantage of the opportunity. He could be like that.
“That one seems rather bold,” Conor commented. “Crash is Lumeo’s little brother. He was born just a few months before . . . Lumeo got moved,” Tarik said, “He’s probably one of the oldest otters here—not including Lumeo.” His otter looked up at him, the picture of offense on his little face. Tarik couldn’t help but laugh.
“He introduced them all to you?” Conor asked. “Last time I was here,” Tarik clarified, “I don’t know any of the younger ones. And frankly, I only remember some of their names. Crash stuck out because he’s a pain in the tail.” Crash promptly slapped him on his rump, and not with a splash attack.
“Awwwwww. Did the splashing scare you, little one?” Irtike cooed. Heads turned towards her. The otter that had been near her took one of the otter pups that had been cheering on the raft and set her next to Snake Eyes. They were touching noses and sheltering in the tiny cove of Irtike’s hands.
“Irtike gets a baby otter?” Rollan said, incredulously. He was dunked under by otters. “I guess we get to play with the adolescents and adults, so the quiet one gets to say hi to a baby,” Conor said, smiling a little. “I want a baby otter!” Rollan whined. Tarik looked at him with sympathy.
He too had wanted to say hi to the baby otters when he was here last. But things had been too . . . chaotic to allow for a proper meeting. He had spared one of them from getting hurt by a grumpy tiger. Then he had given her a rock as a gift as Lumeo said that was proper ‘otter etiquette’.
“If they were sea otters, you might be able to bribe them with a rock,” Tarik whispered. Lumeo looked up, frowning. He chittered something. “But I thought stone keeping was a sea otter thing?” Tarik said. Lumeo rolled his eyes, chittering. The others looked at Tarik for translation. “His family is special. Select members keep stones that remind them of important things.”
One of the otters returned to Tarik, swimming on their back, something firmly grasped in her paws. “Wait, you still have that?” Tarik asked, looking shocked. Yes, Lumeo just said they kept stones to remind them of important things, but he had seriously doubted she had remembered it being so young.
An almost perfectly round, flat stone rested in the otter’s paws. She looked at Tarik as if saying ‘Why wouldn’t I?’ Tarik had forgotten how disconcerting it was to see wild otters have such similar expressive faces as Lumeo.
Crash swam away and came back with an oval rock, chittering at Lumeo. Lumeo’s face lit up and he swam over to Crush, giving him many happy nuzzles. The others looked on in confusion. “That was his going away present,” Tarik softly whispered. Crash nodded, then he swam away, stowing his rock once more.
The otters drove Rollan back to the shore. “I yield! I yield! You win!” he said, crouching near the less drenched Conor. The otters tilted their heads as if not understanding the words. But after no more splashing was had, they seemed to get that Rollan lost. One of them stayed and the rest turned on Tarik.
It took him only a few moments to be making his own break for shore. “I yield! You are a bunch of menaces!” The otters continued to jump on him, keeping him flat, and splash his head. “Lumeo, why aren’t they listening anymore?” Tarik gasped. His otter chittered something teasingly from where he was helping his family mob his partner.
Rollan and Conor took pity on Tarik and helped haul him onto land. The otters started to slide down his back, using him as their personal waterslide. They then rejoined the rest of the group, starting to celebrate their victory.
Lumeo leaped into the air, doing a celebratory series of acrobatics. The remaining otter pup that had been cheering on the raft tried to copy him and ended up tumbling into the water. The pupsitter picked the little one up and set him back on the plants.
Lily, the otter Tarik had saved and given the stone to, leaped into the air, copying Lumeo’s victory dance. Crash leaped up next, also copying the victory dance. Then one other otter leaped up and copied the dance. The lot of them were just a bunch of Wild Lumeoes.
Conor smiled at the little baby otter on Irtike’s hands. Rollan started to check his pockets, but for what purpose was unknown. Tarik carefully slipped back over to their bags, moving slowly to not startle anyone. Then he retrieved their canteens and carefully began to fill them.
After a few minutes, the otter resting near the children, the one that had gone up to Conor earlier, swam away. Only to come back with the otter pup that had been cheering on Tarik, who she deposited near Conor’s hands. He lightly nipped at the boy’s hands, making Conor giggle slightly. “That tickles. You took lessons from Mom, didn't you?” Rollan shook his head, looking a little sad. “Conor gets a little otter too?”
For five minutes, they just cooed at the otters. Then, the otter pup that had been cheering on the children, squeaked at Lumeo. Crash carefully swam under him and ferried him over to the shore.
The otter pup looked at all the various rocks Rollan had pulled out of his pockets, set before him like offerings. His eyes lit on one in the shape of an almost flat rounded triangle. He quickly darted up, grabbed it and retreated.
Sitting atop Crush, the otter pup clutched the triangle rock to his chest, much like how Crash and Lily had been clutching their favorite rocks. Rollan smiled. “Well, it’s not quite getting a baby otter, but I’ll take it.” Tarik could see that despite his words, the gesture had touched the boy and warmed his heart through.
“We should go,” Conor whispered, though his words were tinged with sadness. “We still have a long way to go.” Tarik nodded, remembering himself. They had a mission. While this break was nice, it had probably lasted too long already. They had to reach the Golden Lion before the Conquerors.
“Everyone, give back the otters,” Tarik said. The otter pup by Irtike touched noses with Snake Eyes again, giving a small squeak of goodbye. Snake Eyes returned it. Then their adult companion picked her up and ferried her back to the aquatic plants.
Conor’s otter pup nipped his fingers once more. Then climbed atop his adult companion. She ferried him back over to the plants. Crash had already deposited the otter pup that had taken Rollan’s rock back there. The rest of the otters gathered there, except Crash who was on the shore. Lumeo twined his body around Crush’s. They chittered softly.
The otters chittered and squeaked as if saying goodbye. Lumeo chirped back. The otter pup with the triangle stone held it up proudly, squeaking the shrillest. Conor and Irtike’s otter pups also squeaked goodbye. Only, instead of looking at Lumeo and Tarik, like the others, Irtike’s otter pup’s goodbye seemed directed at Snake Eyes.
The common belief was that wild animals differed from spirit animals mentally. But seeing the goodbyes the wild otters gave, Tarik was reminded that there were some secrets Erdas didn’t hide. They just got overlooked because she didn’t try to magnify them.
It was things like precious connections formed in the moonlight. It was things like hidden almost fleeting meetings that reaffirmed people’s beliefs in each other. It was things like almost cordial letters that never truly touched on what mattered, yet warmed the heart anyways.
Tarik gathered the children together. Conor exchanged his shirt for a dry one. Rollan changed into dry clothes in as much privacy as they could manage, that being a screen of cloaks. Tarik too changed into dry clothes, but he left his soaking wet green cloak around his shoulders. It was a reminder of the families he was fighting for.
Lumeo climbed up to Tarik’s shoulders, staring back at his family. “Don’t worry, Lumeo. We’ll come back again. I promise you that,” Tarik whispered, his hand touching his heart. Lumeo climbed over and put a paw on Tarik’s heart, nodding.