Chapter 17: "Family Matters"

Night came and went without incident. After Nannaya’s departure, Psaltria had returned, having hidden at the far side of the vineyard. Shawk and the women slept in the remains of the servant quarters again; with Arabella's condition, not to mention lack of space in the quarters for two Beasts, Caseus had hunkered down under a particularly overgrown pergola for the night.

Arabella awoke the next morning to the sound of a fire crackling, along with the snores of dinosaurs. Resting against her mother’s side, the steady rhythm of her heartbeat threatened to lull her back to sleep. She opened her eyes groggily, and saw the sky already lightening in various shades of pink. A few rays of sunlight crested the horizon, while the land was still bathed in hues of gray and purple twilight.

“Good morning,” Caseus said. He was tending a campfire, an old pan from the quarters above it, eggs sizzling within. “Sleep well, Hatchling? Do you always sleep this way, or is this part of what ails you as well?” he asked, with a slight smile.

For an instant, Arabella didn't know what he meant. Then she felt her face redden. She had slept like she always had, resting against Psaltria's side, the Maiasaura curling her head and tail to encircle her, nestling her at the center; the same way her kind would for their actual offspring. And judging by the drool trailing from her mouth to her thumb…

“W-what are you saying?! You kur!” she huffed. She wanted to be angry, but was more embarrassed than anything.

Caseus just chuckled. “Relax, I mean no insult. I find it rather cute, if I may say so.”

Arabella wasn't sure a deeper shade of red could exist than the one her cheeks had just turned. She wasn't able to pout or find something to throw at him though, not before he tossed a grape her way. She reflexively caught it, though didn't want to give him the satisfaction of eating it. Again, he just chuckled.

Behind her, she could hear Shawk give a deep yawn, while Psaltria’s tail began to uncurl.

“Good morning,” the Maiasaura said, yawning herself. Caseus tossed a single cluster of grapes to Shawk, who caught it in his beak, and two to Psaltria. The bigger duck-bill was able to easily swallow both clusters, while Shawk began stripping his clean.

“Breakfast is served,” Caseus said with a smile. “And we have a long journey ahead of us today, so you will need a lot of energy…”

He divided the eggs onto plates, two apiece for himself and Arabella, and four for Shawk; pachycephalosaurs weren't strictly vegetarian, after all.

“I mixed a few crickets in with yours,” he added, setting the plate at Shawk's feet, before giving Arabella a simple wooden utensil for hers.

“Ah, thank you m’lord!” Eggs and crickets were two favored sources of protein for Stone Heads, whenever they tired of plants.

“Where did you find these, if I may ask?” Arabella asked between bites.

“There was a flock of wild peafowl nesting along the forest line.” Caseus had walked around the crumbling wall, and there was the sound of something dragging along the ground. He emerged, dragging a fig branch twice his length, covered in leaves and fruits. He presented the branch to Psaltria.

“I know some grapes are hardly enough,” he said. “I would have asked if you preferred figs, but I did not wish to wake you.”

“Why thank you my prince!” Psaltria reverently bowed her head, before she began stripping the branch clean, bark and all.

“You seem rather enthused this morning, Caseus,” Arabella said, eyeing him. “I am pleased Sir Nannaya's news has improved your mood.”

“Indeed,” Caseus said, taking a bite of his own eggs. “Assuming he was not deceiving us. I still find it hard to believe that the Library could be real. And on an island no less!”

“Still, I am glad that you have renewed conviction, m’Lord,” Shawk remarked. There was an unmistakable hint of hope in his voice. “I hope perhaps this means you have reconsidered…”

Caseus sighed, setting his plate aside. “Oh, make no mistake, Shawk, I still stand by my words yesterday. I will not clean up Father's mess.”

Shawk slumped at this.

“I will follow Nannaya's advice, and if I can be rid of this cure, all the better. But I am not the Phoinix. I will not rise from the ashes of my father's failure.”

He turned to the women. “The offer I made yesterday still stands. We shall take you wherever you wish, be it Pradesh or elsewhere.”

“Thank you, my prince,” Psaltria said. “How far is the border? A day, or more?”

“Wait, Mother! What do you mean? Surely you don't mean to abandon this all?” Arabella hadn't even processed what she'd said. She had sat bolt upright, spilling her eggs.

“But of course,” Psaltria responded matter-of-factly. “You are all that I have. It is beyond obvious that Beasts and Shamans are no longer welcome here, and my kind especially have been marked for hunting. I will not risk your safety trying to eke out a life in hiding here!”

“But how can you just leave? Knowing everything we do now? Would you just… walk away?”

“And what would you have us do? Live on the run, hiding and lying, constantly in fear?”

“Speaking from mine own experience, I can’t recommend it,” Caseus piped.

“Better than hiding away in another hovel, acting the part of an imaginary family, while pretending the world isn’t collapsing around us!” Arabella snapped. The words, tipped with venom, were not directed at Caseus though. Clearly this was already a sore spot for them.

“Not this discussion again,” Psaltria gave a snort. “I will not change my mind, my child. My word is final.”

Arabella stood up, meeting the Maisaura’s gaze. “I am NOT a child anymore!”

“Ehrm, pardon my interruption, but what explains that ‘condition’ of yours then?” Shawk asked.

“And, well, suckling your thumb for that matter?” Caseus cheekily added.

“Not now!” Both snapped back in unison. The two men obliged, casting slightly surprised glances at each other. Watching this drama unfold was awkward, to say the very least.

“And you,” Arabella wheeled back to Psaltria, “are not my real mother!”

Psaltria said nothing. Instead, the maiasaur rose. Even on all fours, she towered over all of them. Then, she reared back onto her hind legs, standing so tall she pressed against and strained the wooden ceiling. Looking down on Arabella, her face was stern.

“That may be true, my child. But who was it that took you in, my child, when you were just a cold, half-naked orphan? Who was it that gave you food and shelter, my child? Who was it that tended to every tantrum, every set of sodden sheets, every episode of yours, my child? Name them!”

Arabella remained defiant. “But, how can you abandon your home? And what of your own kin? How can you leave them to be hunted? After what you did at Petraz?”

A deathly silence fell over the group. Caseus and Shawk both looked to each other, and then back to the two of them. They understood the severity of what she had just invoked. But did she?

A deep guttural rumble came from Psaltria. “You know nothing of what happened at Petraz, child. Do not speak on things you have no knowledge of.”

“Then tell me, Mother! What did you do to have that harlot hunt you?! The Mother who raised me always spoke of responsibility! Honesty! I recall more than a few lashings for lying!”

With a huff, Psaltria stood down, back on all fours. Or rather she stamped back down. She may have been conceding a point, but she was clearly not happy.

“Fine then. So, what do you propose we do? Wherefore would you have us go? Where can we possibly hide?”

Arabella looked to Caseus, and gave a slight grin. “I, for one, would like to see the Library of Alsanna. If our prince would be so kind as to take us there.”

“What are you saying?” Caseus asked. “You wish to come along with us?”

“No.” The girl approached him, clasping his hand in hers. “I wish to help you!” She cast a look back to Psaltria. “It is the least we can do to repay you, after you saved us.”

Psaltria gave a beleaguered sigh, as if to say “Fine, you've made your point.” Caseus found himself at a loss for words.

Perhaps calling her “Hatchling” was a bit unwarranted…

He shook his head. “While I appreciate the offer, truly, you owe us nothing. And I mean no offense, but I would hate to be hindered by you as much as I would hate to see you hurt on my account.”

“We will not be a hindrance, I promise you!”

“Ahem.” Caseus pointed down towards her ankle, then to Psaltria’s bandaged hide. “Do you think you will be able to make it all the way to Sassukaru? And to the island after that? Can you even swim?” Sassukaru was both the nearest and largest port town.

“Ah, but of course! My family, my birth parents, were fishermen. I was born by the sea! I could swim to the ends of the earth, if you were to ask!”

Caseus rubbed the back of his head, sighing. He looked to Shawk.

“I am more than capable of carrying her, should the need arise, my lord.” he said proudly.

Finally, he relented. “Very well. I look forward to working with you.” With that, he took her hand in his with a firm shake.

“Well, we have a long journey ahead of us. Let us waste no more time!”