Chapter 12

The siblings followed Heba to the mess hall near the barracks. Though it had only been a few hours since Isak fed her and Lumin, her stomach growled like an angry dragon. Not wanting to appear greedy and glutinous in front of their new allies, she tried to justify it in her mind with the food only being a protein bar, a good snack but hardly filling. Heba and Xire seemed important since everyone was trusting them to watch over her and Benjamin. A good impression could go a long way with someone like her, especially since she wanted to ask Xire many questions about what they read about ichneumon.

Lumin felt the worry was frivolous and urged her to eat as much as she could. While he meant well to squash her worry, she knew he also wanted to taste as much food as possible.

‘What food do you think they have? Maybe more fish? I do love fish,’ Lumin said.

‘Really? I couldn’t tell,’ Evelyn said.

‘Hey, you did a sarcasm, too. Why is it bad that I did it?’

‘It’s not, sweetie. I was just joking before.’

Despite her amusement, she found it difficult to smile. The library was a good distraction, but when Benjamin mentioned her training, her mind lingered on her struggles. Even her own brother seemed weary of them.

With a poke of the mind, Lumin tried to reign her back from her disparaging thoughts to the topic of food.

‘I could not tell you what food they have here,’ she said. ‘Ben said the food the guard had was plain and boring, maybe they are the same.’

When they entered, she was surprised to see the mess hall was vastly different to what Benjamin described. It was more akin to a catered buffet hall. Various foods ranging from poultry to rice stuffed vegetables to baked goods. Chefs stood behind grills with stoves lining the wall. They prepared complete meals separate from the foods placed on the serving tables. The smell was delightful; a mix of doughy and beefy scents made her mouth water.

Benjamin elected to create his own plate at the buffet while Evelyn went to the chefs, inquiring about the food they cooked. At first, the chefs seemed reluctant to speak with her as the people at the market did, shunning her and focusing on their plates while avoiding eye contact. Only when Heba joined her and gestured to her did a chef acknowledge Evelyn.

“What is it you want?” The chef asked.

Evelyn looked around at the dishes they had already prepared. A few looked good, but she could not make up her mind. Lumin did not help either, as he encouraged her to try everything. “What would you recommend for an Aonachan who’s never tried a Faiyan dish?”

The chef crossed his arms and looked down at the ingredients. Worried she might have annoyed, or even upset him, she was about to pick a meal at random. Before she did, she caught a glimmer of inspiration in his eyes.

Without saying a word, he gathered ingredients. He swiftly started cutting the meats and chopping the vegetables. After scooping a spoonful from a steaming bowl, he mashed flat, green beans that Evelyn had never seen before and mixed the remains with a variety of other beans. While he stirred, he added a few spices and olive oil.

All of his movement was smooth and calculated. Evelyn was not witnessing someone making a meal, she was witnessing an artist at work.

After a few minutes, he added the veggies and meats to the top of the stew and handed her the beautiful dish. “Ful Medames. A traditional Faiyan stew with a mix of beans, the primary being Fava. It has a kick to it, but not too spicy for your delicate aotongue.”

“Sounds delicious. Thank you, sir.” The chef smiled and bowed his head before turning to Heba. Evelyn took her dish and joined Benjamin at a table in the back corner of the room. She noticed the hall was fairly busy, nearly all the tables were occupied. The only ones empty were the ones surrounding them. The only people who sat near the siblings were Heba and Xire, sitting at the table next to them at the furthest seat. While she felt discouraged by it, Benjamin seemed to not care as he contently ate his meal. He tried to hide it, but a half smile betrayed his intended stoicness when he took the first bite.

Wanting to share his enjoyment, she dug into her own plate. It was love at first bite. Her taste buds were blessed with a smooth, creamy texture, spreading the nutty and earthy flavor. The aftertaste left a tingling sensation on her tongue from the blend of assorted spices. Just as the chef said, it was spicy, but nothing that would irritate her; the perfect level of spiciness.

Intrusively, she cursed her mother for not cooking them anything of her native Faiyan cuisine. It was delightful and she loathed that she had not tried it sooner. She only wished she could have experienced it with her entire family. She would love to tell her mother how much she loved it and to ask her more about her culture and see what her father knew of these meals. He was the primary cook of the family, so she wondered what he could have done with recipes like that. I hope he’s alright… Maybe we can reunite as a family soon. Mom would love to meet Lumin.

‘That was amazing!’ Lumin expressed. Evelyn jumped at his voice. She briefly forgot he was there and tasted what she tasted. ‘So many different flavors at once. That was so much better than just plain fish. Do you think I would like that in my physical form?’

‘I’m not sure how your taste buds differ from mine, so I don’t see why not. Maybe later they can make a dish just for you.’

She suddenly had a deep urge to lick her chops and request a second serving. With a deep breath, she suppressed the emotions, not letting Lumin take over. All day his emotions fought with hers to take over. She knew it wasn’t his fault despite his apologies, he was just a hatchling with no real control of it, but if she was going to do one thing correctly, it would be to prevent Lumin’s magical energy from being drained.

She noticed Benjamin had finished his meal too as he grabbed her plate and placed it atop of his. Looking over, she saw Heba patting her lips with a cloth, her plate empty as well. Mimicking Benjamin, she took Xire’s empty plate and stacked it with hers. She rose and took the plates to a metallic sink where other dirty plates were placed. Benjamin tried to subtly follow her, not wishing to seem dependent on Heba for directions Evelyn assumed, which seemed ridiculous. So she followed along and intentionally blew his cover, receiving a stern glare from Benjamin. “Heba, I had no idea the food here was so good.”

Without looking back at them, Heba responded, “We Faiyans take great pride in our cuisines. Our chefs refuse to cook anything less than exemplary.”

“It seems like you don’t do anything half-heartedly. Your architecture is stunning, too.” Evelyn saw Heba’s cheek perk up.

“That is thanks to our ichneumon. They carved everything you see with their abilities.”

“Amazing,” Evelyn said.

Once the plates were put away, as a group, they headed for the exit. As they reached it, a choir of voices filled the mess hall. Only then did she realize that everyone withdrew their conversations to whispers when her and Benjamin entered.

Though it was weird to her, she tried to pay no mind to it, though Lumin became concerned with that combined with the marketplace customers ignoring her. He worried that it was because of him, but Evelyn assured him otherwise, though she had to suppress her own suspicions to calm him.

“How much time until you need to see Isak again?” Benjamin asked.

“I… actually don’t know. Heba, how do you tell time down here with no sun? I haven’t seen any clocks or anything.”

Heba pointed up at the giant light in the center of the cave. It shone a bright yellow hue that illuminated the cave. It was nothing spectacular design wise, just a half sphere that took up about five to ten meters of the ceiling, but it illuminated the entire base.

“The Dawalsh acts as our sun, getting gradually brighter in the morning and dimmer through the evening. Eventually you will acclimate to the time of day. You will also know it is sunset when the dragon, Foto, emerges from the power room for the day,” Heba explained.

So he must power the base like the power plant dragons. I hope they treat him fairly. Maybe that’s what Isak meant by sunset: when we see Foto take his leave, Evelyn thought.

“You have about four hours until then.”

‘We should have Heba and Xire give us a tour,’ Lumin suggested. ‘Not only do we get to know this place, but the people here will see us being friendly with them and maybe they will be nicer to us.’

‘I think we only needed the former reason, but great thinking, sweetie,’ Evelyn said. She relayed Lumin’s idea to the rest of the group, who all were apprehensive. “Isak did tell you to give Ben a tour after the range. We can just tag along.”

Reluctantly, Heba showed them around the base for the next few hours. Most of the sights they saw they had already seen in passing, but Heba, with some prying from Lumin, went into more detail about the base and the structures filling it. The largest area was the residential area. It protruded furthest from the wall among all of the buildings carved from the walls. Even with its size, it perplexed Evelyn when Heba explained that there were thousands of residents that were not part of the resistance, but merely citizens of Faiy who were displaced by the war. Mixed among them were some Aonachans that defected. To accommodate the population, the buildings were carved further into the mountain, creating a truly underground residence.

Evelyn observed the people. Just as she suspected, the minority Aonachans were segregated into their own small neighborhood, their homes in good condition, but far smaller and more bland. Their Faiyan neighbors seemed to pay them no mind, and they returned the gesture. Occasional conversations occurred, and when they visited the market again, the Aonachans were at least able to make purchases.

‘Maybe that’s why even the shopkeepers refused to talk to us. We weren’t going to buy anything. Just like in Cove,’ she told Lumin.

‘It still seemed odd to me.’

Trying to be observant, Evelyn watched the reactions of the people at the market to spot any difference in their reception with Heba and Xire compared to when they were alone. To her surprise, they didn’t pay much attention to her. While they would give her nasty looks before, they seemed more perplexed by Heba speaking to the siblings as if she were breaking some unwritten rule.

After they had seen everything within view, and Benjamin took a jab at the smaller size of the base, Heba explained that the base was larger than what they could see. There were many areas, like the library and firing range, that were behind stone walls that required ichneumon or special pass to access. Xire was in no mood to open any other areas for them, so they returned to the barracks and visited the room assigned to Benjamin since he refused to return to the dragon pen. Heba and Xire waited outside his door while the siblings talked.

“How does this compare to your room at boot camp?”

Benjamin shrugged. “A little roomier, but nothing special. At the very least I have my own restroom. If we talk to Isak, we could probably get you a room here, too.”

“I’m staying with Lumin in the hatchery, remember?”

“I mean after that. You could also just sneak away.”

“Absolutely not. I would only leave if Lumin wanted me to.”

‘Please don’t leave me there alone,’ Lumin said.

‘You have nothing to worry about, sweetie.’

Benjamin shivered, and Evelyn tilted her head curiously. “I don’t know how I feel about you talking to something in your mind; it’s creepy.”

“Is it that obvious when I talk to him?”

“Very,” Benjamin said. “You bob your head and make hand gestures like you do in regular conversation.”

“Dad always said I was an animated talker.” It was habitual for her to make these gestures. It gave her a sense of emphasizing her meaning. It was going to take a lot to rewire her brain to break that habit with Lumin, and this was the perfect time to practice. “Tell me about your time at the range. Jalibamawt told me you and Heba were there for a while.”

Benjamin paused, his gaze lowering and becoming distant. When Evelyn probed him, he shook his head. “Sorry, Jalibamawt?”

“The ichneumon we met while looking for you… are you alright?”

“I’m fine.”

”Are you sure? We can always—”

”Don’t worry about me. What were you asking?”

“I asked how your time at the range was.”

“Right, well…”

Benjamin went on to explain his experience meeting Yahmi and their impromptu competition.

While he talked, going into far greater detail about the guns they used than she felt necessary, Lumin asked, ‘Why does he keep touching his side?’

Glancing down, she too noticed Benjamin patting his side. ‘I’m not sure,’ she said, being more conscious about staying still while talking to Lumin. ‘I don’t see his holster with this new outfit. Maybe he had to stow away his gun in his pocket.’

As she spoke to Lumin, she made a conscious effort to keep her body still like she was paying attention to Benjamin's long winded description of a long barreled something or whatever.

Benjamin continued talking for a while. A part of Evelyn was annoyed, wanting to talk about her own findings, but the other part found it relieving that he found something to be excited about. For the first time since she showed him Lumin’s egg, he seemed relaxed and excited. Only a few times in Evelyn’s life had he gone on long, passionate rants like this, but when he got excited about something, he could not stop.

Once he got to the part about him leaving his gun there, he paused mid sentence, reigning in his excited speech. He seemed to think about his next sentence before continuing. It seemed odd to Evelyn that he practically glossed over leaving his gun. Even in Banrigh, Benjamin felt naked without his sidearm. Perhaps Yahmi gave him a gun to stand in for it while it gets repaired? Maybe that’s what’s in his pocket, she thought.

After that, Benjamin said that is when they met up with her, ending his story. Apparently realizing he took up a lot of time, he quickly asked, “So you found Mom’s books ‘uncensored’ at the library. What more did the Faiyans claim in those books?”

“That’s the thing, the Faiyans did not write that book, it was—”

Just as she started, a loud growl shook the walls. They both looked around, trying to figure out what was happening. Lumin whimpered, a sense of dread sweeping their connection.

There was a knock at the door. “That is your queue,” Heba said, her voice muffled by the wood. The siblings rose and left. Heba was leaning against the wall with her arms crossed.

“I’m surprised you’re still here,” Benjamin said.

“After we go see Isak, hopefully we can be rid of you.”

“Let’s hope so.”

Evelyn looked between the two of them, their eyes narrowed with intense distrust. Curious, she watched Xire’s reaction. The ichneumon seemed almost bored of the events. She wondered if he really cared about their duty. When she took a step toward Heba, Xire’s eyes snapped onto Evelyn, his frown morphing into a snarl.

Shaken, Evelyn muttered, “L-let’s just get going.”

As they approached the gate, they saw the dragon, Foto. Like the groundclaws in the books, he was bulky, his tail as wide as she was tall at its base. The dirt brown dragon towered over everything. She estimated that he was twice Safir’s size. He sauntered toward the dragon pen and lied down facing away from the rest of the base, letting out a loud groan that reverberated through the base. As he did, the shops in the center of the base began to close down, not even acknowledging anyone who tried to make a last second purchase.

Once through the tunnel into the open cavern, they spotted Safir lying just in front of the ocean, Isak at her side. A fiery orange reflected the setting sun off of her glistening scales, giving her a majestic gleam, as if she were set ablaze by the drake gods after she surfaced from the water. They looked to be discussing something in hushed voices. When they spotted the approaching party, Safir shut her mouth and stood and Isak took a step forward.

“Welcome back, how went your first full day fused?” The old rider asked

“It is something we will have to get used to; knowing I’m never alone is strange… but oddly comforting.”

Isak raised his chin. “That is good, not everyone feels that way initially. Having another mind inside your head can be a lot.

“It is, but Lumin is very helpful.”

“I have no doubts about that. Now defuse.”

Remembering their training, she raised her arm and mentally separated from Lumin. As he reappeared next to her, Evelyn heard Benjamin’s feet shuffle. He had taken a step back, an unsettled expression on his face. He never saw us do this, did he? It’s one thing to see Isak and Safir do this, but a whole other ordeal seeing us do it.

It did not take as long as their first attempt that morning, but it was not as quick as their most recent attempt, which frustrated her.

Lumin stretched his legs and shook before opening his eyes, beaming at Evelyn. She smiled back, but deep down, she felt empty. When they defused in training, she felt a small, insignificant emptiness, but now there was a hole in her heart that Lumin left. She tried to hide her sorrow, but she felt her smile waver.

“It will feel more natural to let him go with time, but what you are feeling is normal,” Isak said. Evelyn guessed he caught her shift in emotion.

“What of you, tiny one?” Safir asked.

I guess that’s better than ‘runt’. Evelyn thought.

Lumin stood to talk, but he stumbled, leaning into Evelyn, who reached down to catch him. “My legs feel… weird.”

“Do they feel wobbly?” Evelyn asked.

He nodded. “Yes, I think that is how to describe it. Wobbly and painful.”

A growl rumbled deep in Safir’s throat. “That is normal; in your adolescence, you continue to grow as any other creature, even when you are in your magical form or fused. So what you are feeling is growing pains and fatigue. It is only when you reach maturity that you will feel normal after defusing.”

“So it will be like this for three years?”

Isak and Safir looked surprised that he knew how long it would be. “Describe what you did as a fusion pair,” Safir asked. Evelyn opened her mouth to respond, but she was quickly met with a snarl from the blue dragon. “From Lumin, not you.” Evelyn was taken aback by the ferocity when Safir referred to her.

“We went to the library and she taught me how to read. It was a bit difficult, but seeing the words through her eyes made it a lot easier, I think.”

Isak and Safir looked at each other inquisitively. The sinking feeling Evelyn got when told she was underperforming in training resurfaced. “Should we not have done that?”

“No, no. That is completely fine. I actually feel it was the wise thing to do for him in particular. Normally, we would not go into such detail with explanations for hatchlings, but Lumin’s intelligence seems to be far greater than many we have seen at his age,” Isak said.

Evelyn felt Lumin’s chest vibrate as he purred with pride. “We also ate food and I got to taste cooked food through her. It was delicious! And I feel like I understand how Evelyn thinks better now.”

“One of the many benefits to fusion,” Safir said.

“I am glad your day went well. From now until you retire to bed, continue your fusion and diffusion training on your own. In the morning, once you hear Foto leave, meet me at the lobby of Burj Alzae, the building where you met General Fukayna. Did Heba show you the mess hall?” Evelyn nodded. “Good, get your breakfast there, they will have something for Lumin as well.”

“Is it safe to assume you want me there as well?” Benjamin asked.

“You have different orders from the general. As you’ve already been evaluated on your marksmanship, you will be evaluated on martial combat.”

“Evaluated?”

“Yes, I apologize for deceiving you, but Yahmi was to evaluate your skills. Chin up, lad. He had high remarks for you. Plus he seemed to enjoy your company. He was even more thrilled that you joined in as well, Heba. I heard you gave Xire quite the headache.”

Heba sank into her shoulders and muttered something in Faiyan. Xire subtly leaned into Heba’s hand and whispered into her ear. Evelyn tried to listen, but the crashing waves of the ocean drowned out his hushed voice.

“Regardless, it was nice to hear you still have a competitive side and train with rifles again. As for you, Benjamin, you will meet with Commander Majadon in the training yard. You went against the base’s highest rated marksman, so of course, you will go against our highest rated combatant.”

“Wait,” Heba said. “But I’m the… highest… Hra.” she muttered as she realized what Isak meant.

The rider chuckled. “Yes, that means you, Heba. Direct orders from the general. Your commander and I happened to agree with it as well.”

“And if I don’t follow these orders?” Benjamin asked. “I never agreed to join your army. You cannot order me around as if I’m your soldier.”

“That is true,” Isak said, scratching his beard. Lumin beckoned Evelyn. She leaned down as he whispered into her ear. She was hesitant with his suggestion, but nodded, wanting to trust him.

“Ben,” Evelyn interrupted, repeating what Lumin suggested. “You should go along with it. As things stand, you cannot go back to the guards, and I doubt you would want to sit around and do nothing while I train with Lumin and eventually fight alongside him.”

He looked at the ground and curled his toes against the stone floor. With a heavy sigh, he nodded. “Fine, I will oblige.”

“I am glad. Go ahead and take your leave. Heba will escort you to your quarters, Benjamin.” Both Heba and Benjamin tried to argue, but their complaints fell upon deaf ears.

Isak and Safir fused and walked with the group through the tunnel before bidding them a good night and walking toward the barracks. I wonder what kind of room Safir has, she thought. When no response came, had a brief second of worry, but remembered Lumin could no longer hear her thoughts.

After getting dinner, Evelyn and Lumin having fused again to enter the mess hall, Heba escorted Benjamin to the barracks as instructed and Evelyn went to the hatchery with Lumin. Once there, they practiced for an hour before she could no longer continue. Her thoughts became clouded and she could barely stand, having to take a seat next to the bed. She became frustrated as she still struggled to absorb Lumin quickly.

Lumin laid next to her, placing his head in her lap. Looking up at her, his bright, beaming blue eyes washed away most of her frustration with a mixture of comfort and astonishment.

Just the other night, his head only took half of her lap, but cheek to cheek, he was now nearly at her knees. “At this rate, you may be too big to do this soon.”

He whimpered and nuzzled her. “But it is comfortable like this.”

“Don’t worry, you can lay like this until that time comes. For now, get some sleep, sweetie.”