Chapter 21: "Nascent Feelings"

“Thank you for dinner, Father, Sister,” Shawk gave a satisfied sigh. The dining room was just over 100 feet long, with a 60 foot ceiling, giving ample room for most Beasts to comfortably dine. Only the tallest of the long-necked sauropods would have to crouch or bend their necks to eat.

The evening meal had consisted of melons and a large salad of cypress and grasses for the two Beasts, with a meal of seared fish, rice and lentils, as well as loaf of bread for the humans.

“Think nothing of it,” Elkeniah said. “I only wish your friend had been able to join us. I only wish to repay him for his aid.”

“Yes well, he has been feeling somewhat ill these past couple of days. He meant no offense.” Shawk tried to mask the disappointment in his voice as he made the excuse. Caseus's words still echoed in his mind.

“I suppose I will have to ask him tomorrow how he managed such an impressive feat today. That was quite the kick! Like nothing I've ever seen!”

“Yes, yes it was,” Shawk cast his gaze elsewhere. Meeting someone’s eyes while lying was always something he struggled with. If either of the clergy were suspicious, they didn't show it.

***

Arabella, meanwhile, idly picked at what was left of her food. She had hungrily downed it all in just a few minutes, and now the reflections of what had happened earlier were setting in.

Again, at the sight of a theropod, she had broken down into a blubbering baby. She had cowered behind Psaltria, while Caseus had again put himself in harm's way.

Useless. Pathetic!

Those thoughts weren't new to her. Ever since the day her parents had died, the day she'd developed this goddamn condition, those thoughts frequently invaded her waking hours.

Of course, Psaltria was quick to coddle her, to brush her away from whatever Beast had upset her, and soothe her.

“I love you my child, no matter what shape or state you may be,” she would say. “And besides, every parent misses having a baby to dote on every now and then!”

And so she had grown used to being coddled in this state. But it was one thing when it was seeing a friendly theropod just passing on the road. But now, they were frequently getting into life-and-death scrapes with them, and she was utterly useless.

Except…

Somehow, when the Carno had charged, she didn't know how, but she had found the will to climb onto Shawk's back, reaching out, trying to pull him out of the way. Where had that come from?

She had just felt a sudden fear, a fear of… what? Seeing him hurt? Killed?

Why do I care that much about him? I barely know the man, and he's been so brooding… Sure he had helped them, and she wanted to repay him, but still, that didn't quite cover the emotions she had felt…

“Well, I hope he will at least enjoy what is left over,” Cassie’s voice interrupted her. Elkeniah had prepared a covered pot with leftovers, along with a freshly filled water skin.

Shawk assured them he would.

Well, I doubt that will be anywhere close to a filling meal as he is now, she mused as she picked it up. With a few nods and more thanks, the trio began to head back to their rooms.

As they made their way down the hall, the sound of something scraping and dragging against the stone could be heard.

“What is that?” she asked, straining her eyes in the dark. The candles that lined the hallway remained unlit, and the overcast night sky allowed little light in.

“M’lord, what are you doing?” Shawk asked. Of course, both of them could see clearly in the night light.

They both continued to walk on ahead, though Arabella froze in her tracks. She strained her eyes in the dark, and could finally make out the massive shape of Caseus in the dark.

Or rather, his rear end. His hind legs and tail were sticking out from one of the hall arches. Like he was stuck. As soon as she made him out, she froze. Her lip began to quiver, and her knees felt like jelly. The lid on the covered pot began to rattle as her body shook. An involuntary, childish “N-nuuu” slipped from her mouth.

Neither Shawk nor Psaltria acknowledged her. They were instead much more concerned about the royal tyrannosaur ass in front of them.

“M’Lord, what are you doing out here?!” Shawk harshly whispered. “Were you not going to spend the night in the room?”

“Enough of that, just hurry and help me get free,” Caseus snorted.

The two Beasts looked at each other, before getting to work. Shawk wedged himself between one the massive legs and the wall, in what little space there was between, and began to push; meanwhile, Psaltria grasped his tail in her beak and began to pull. The prince tried to stifle a groan of pain as the beak dug into his hide, before he finally slid free, slightly stumbling back into the hall.

“Ah, my thanks,” he said, and he gave his tail a slight shake from the discomfort. The beak of a duck-bill was meant to lop through the thickest palm fronds, after all.

“None of that,” Shawk said. “Quickly, back inside, before someone sees!”

Reluctantly, Caseus did as bade, turning back towards the room. But then he stopped, and looked back down the hall.

Arabella had not moved. The only sounds in the hall now were the sounds of the pot lit rattling, and the pathetic whimpers and whines from her mouth.

“Oh, Bella, come along child!” Psaltria turned back and attempted to nudge the girl down the hall. “My Prince, if you would please...”

Caseus gave a nod and a grunt as he turned back toward the room. Best to get out of sight before she totally broke down-

“N-no! Don't go!”

All in the hallway were taken by surprise by the outburst, Arabella included. It seemed to shake her from her episode, if only for a fleeting moment. Then it came rushing back, and she was again a blubbering mess, hiding behind her mother.

“A-alright,” Caseus mumbled. “Anyway…”

He turned and again made his way back into the room, Shawk not far behind.

“Bella-” Psaltria had scarcely opened her mouth, before the girls dashed back into their room. Set the pot down on the floor, before throwing herself onto the cot. She buried her face in the pillow and let out a muffled groan of frustration.

“Pathetic! Stupid, stupid baby! Aaagh!”

***

Caseus sighed as he curled up in a corner of the room.

“Apologies for that, Shawk,” he said, trying to maintain a nonchalant tone. “I suppose I underestimated how narrow those arches could be.”

“Please, Lord Caseus, enough,” Shawk shook his head as he walked over to the bed of sheets he had made made up “Do not treat me like a fool. What were you doing outside here?”

“Answering a call of nature.”

“Ah, if that were the case, then what is this?” Shawk motioned his head towards a folded note, left in his nest of blankets. Surely written at some point prior to the transformation. “Do not tell me…”

Using his snout, Shawk unfolded the note. Caseus looked away as he read it.

“M’lord, what is the meaning of this? What do you mean you are leaving?”

***

Outside the temple, concealed in the surrounding foliage, Ibnir had been stunned into silence. He had heard that Harada man's groans, the sound of flesh and bone crackling and relocating, and a single animalistic growl that came afterwards. That alone had roused his interest.

Surely not, he had thought. The boy cannot have been telling the truth.

And yet then he had seen it! The great head and torso of a Tyrannosaurus emerged from one of the archways! From their vantage point in the bushes, the two of them had tried to flatten themselves as low to the ground as possible, and not moved; tyrannosaurs had impressive eyesight, even in the dark. Only after he returned to the interior did they rise from cover.

“You see? Did I not tell you? And you called me a liar!” Kai whispered. He wasn't trying to hide the vindication in his voice.

Ibnir shook his head. “I apologize for doubting you, though I can still scarcely believe it myself! To think, such a treacherous fiend… and Isha is dead because of him…”

“Now you see why,” Kai whispered. “The man, the abomination, must die!”