Before Winter

Saif rode the nearly empty bus with Bron. It seemed like not everyone was made aware of their return quite yet.
Bron chose a seat on the very top level of the triple-decker bus. Saif was barely too short to see over the rails while seated, so Bron was more than happy to seat him in his lap as he told him all about the Earthen Fields, Brightside and the farms.

“-the volcano’s lava contains a lot of the nutrients that plants thrive off of. A volcano’s eruption might be detrimental in the short term, but it makes the land more fertile and suitable for growth in the future. The farmlands are proof of that. In fact, the farmlands were far larger, spanning into what is now considered territory of the Great Abode…”

Bron trailed off, eyes fixed a far distance away. “That was actually how your mother and I met.”

Saif leaned back, tilting his head up to look at Bron’s face as he spoke.

“Your mother works for Greater Death, and I for Earth, Fire and Creatures. This was a very long time ago, long before the Greaters arrived. Hylfa’s coworker called in sick- Jaundice, it was. I thanked them at the wedding. Your mother took their place to survey the farms after the volcano erupted. I was there to concoct a new bug to help ease the lands into healing.” Bron spoke with a fond smile, a blush coloring his face. “She got mad at me, thinking I was flubbing the numbers when I told her over thirteen million deaths were confirmed in the area. Oh how embarrassed I was when I realized she was asking about civilians and those of intellect, not regular plants and animals. . To this day, if I ask her a question where the answer is a number, she’d tell me ‘around thirteen million, unless the silksong worms dug deep enough to avoid it.’ She’ll never let me live that down.”

Saif had never been to a farm before. He saw them in movies and shows, but he had no idea what they should look like in real life. He had even less of an idea of what they should look like in this life, but he didn’t expect this.

Sticks and twigs barely stuck out of the ground, barely past sprouting. Dead shrubs and dry trees as well. There were no fruits or vegetables to be picked. What’s going on? He tugged on Bron’s sleeve, tilting his head to ask.

“The harvest season’s over. The plants are getting ready to hibernate through the winter seasons. Some may die off, but that just ends up fueling the soil with more nutrients so the farmers aren’t too worried.”

Bron continued working, grabbing a few soil samples and checking them against some papers. This was boring compared to what Saif was up to, and Bron could tell.

“Such energy, little hatchling. Why don’t you go and explore the fields? We can meet up at that entry arch over there when we’re done.”

Saif agreed and scurried away.

Aimlessly at first, allowed the whispers of bugs to take him all over the farms. From one end to the other, showing him what little plants were left behind for them to consume. They took him south, all the way to the cliff edge where he could hear the crashing of the ocean below.

It wasn’t long until they pointed him to something strange. He found a group of larval bugs that didn’t speak, the other bugs complained about their silence. They wriggled in their quiet, hidden under a pile of leaves. Instinct didn’t like it when Saif picked one up to inspect it.

A bird cawed at him from afar, the other bugs scattered. It was the first ordinary bird he saw in this world, not an Avian. The difference was intellect, Instinct told him, the same reason why we are not a common grub. Saif nodded, taking only one from the pile and leaving the rest alone before the bird caught up to them.

Saif ran back to Bron, larva pinched in his outstretched hand. “Did you find something interesting, hatchling?”

He handed it over, placing it gently in the Great’s palm. He turned it over, once, twice, humming and hawing to himself. Saif heard a rustle of leaves from behind him.

In the blink of an eye, a red head popped out of the decaying foliage then disappeared back into it. Curious, he launched into the sound, chasing whatever was there back into the fields.

Bron finally looked up, “yep. This seems like one of mine. I’ll have to take it back to confirm it. Where did you find this?” Saif was already long gone.

He chased the thing through the fields, giggles and murmurs following them as they ran. Saif kept the chase light, Instinct was laughing at him. He got occasional glimpses at the runner, a vine here, a fruit there, but they always stayed hidden enough to edge him into following.

Saif thought he had it cornered at the last patch of shrubbery on the edge of the farm. With only the cliff behind it, there was nowhere for it to turn that Saif couldn't reach.

He adjusted his footing. He freighted left, watching the thing dive right. He leaped at it at full speed, pincers ready to catch it.

Saif, tricked by the misdirect, dove over the cliff.
As he tumbled down, he wondered if he could swim in his bug form, thinking he was going to end up in the ocean.

Lucky for him, there was a nice big metal docking post for him to slam into instead.

Saif took the hit directly to the abdomen, knocking the air out of him. He slipped to one side and landed on a wet wooden dock instead. Saif took a moment to breathe, grateful that he’s still in one piece. A set of uneven clomps and heavy footsteps made their way to him.

“Blimey, kid. You alright? That’s a nasty blow ya took there.” Someone chortled. Saif was plucked off the ground and dangled in the air by the back of his too-small green cloak. It was a person in a very low-cut piratey dress that showed off more of their figure than Saif had ever seen with his own two eyes. “Now that’s a new face. Yer alive tho, aye?”Saif nodded.

“Good. I’m Boony, head captain of that boat there, Peril o’ da Pool, and women’s wrongs advocate. Now that I’ve saved your life, you’re gonna owe me a nice favor when I see you again.”

It was rough trying to climb back up the wet, rocky cliffside, with wave after wave threatening to take him, but Saif persevered. He really didn’t want to end up ‘owing’ anyone else any favors.

He was soaking wet and shivering by the time he caught up with Bron. The Great Being noticed the fine tremors and bundled up Saif in his own jacket, leaving him exposed to the elements until the bus came. Saif tried to give it back, but Bron distracted him instead. Talking about interesting beetles, bees, ants and even crustaceans until they got home.

“Honey, we’re home!”

“I’m in the living room,” Hylfa replied, sounding focused.

She stood just as they entered the living room, hiding something behind her back.

“Hatchling, come here.” She demanded, face stone cold. Saif obliged. “Your father was worried about you. He said you’ve been wearing his old workshop rags around your neck like a cloak, and now you’ve got them all wet.”

Saif gripped the cloak tightly under Bron’s coat.

“I don’t know how you’ve managed to keep it on this entire time, but you’ve outgrown it now. Take it off.” Saif frowned, prepared to throw a fit, but Instinct stopped him from even stomping his foot.
“Try this one on instead.”

The new cloak was everything he wanted. It was much longer and warmer, the bottom of the deep green fabric barely touched the floor when he stood still. When Bron mentioned it, Hylfa said he’d “grow into it eventually.” Along with the cloak, Hylfa provided him with sheaths and straps to keep all his tools on him, like the old cloak had but far more secure. It even had long lapels, making it the perfect space for his beetle-pin to clip onto.

Hylfa insisted she deal with the old rags, knowing that her husband would hold onto it as a keepsake for the rest of their lives.

Before they could spend time as a family, Bron received an urgent letter, dropped off by the same bird Saif saw in the farms. The message demanded that he and Saif head to the Hall of Greater Beings right away. Hylfa bid her family farewell, giving them each a kiss for good luck, unaware of what’s to come.

Saif showed Bron the elevator access. “Do you remember anything about your time as an eggling?” He asked. Saif shrugged, unsure of his memories.

One second, they were stepping into the Hall. The next, Bron was tossed onto the ground and pinned by two metal people.

“What’s the meaning of this?” Bron struggled underneath them. “Who brought these Metallum into the Hall?”

Saif wanted to jump in, but Instinct held him back, demanding he look at the members. Only the Greater Beings were in the meeting, just like Bron mentioned they would. Instinct named them for him: Travel, Moon, Wisdom, Family, Earth, and the speaker, Law.

“Bron of Creatures, you are to be detained on the account of espionage against the Greater order.”

“What-” The Metallum stepped on Bron’s head, breaking his glasses. Earth looked away, as their own representative was mistreated.

“By hiding your invention from the rest of the Council, you deemed yourself an enemy of the people.”

“But I-”

“We suspect the Greater Being of Creatures to be conspiring against our Council and against our world. The Greater Beings of the Council have decreed that Creatures be brought to justice before the first fall of snow. Your vessel must prove its loyalty to us by hunting them down itself.”

“Innocent until proven guilty!” Bron screamed. “That’s the law of these lands.”

Law looked down at Bron, eyes sharp and unfeeling. “No, Lesser Bron,

"I am the law.”