Unlikely Friends: Chapter 4

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Icarus was blessedly quiet during the flight, but he kept lifting his head, turning it from side to side. It took Milarose a moment to understand what he was doing, and when he figured it out, he felt surprised. The kainu couldn't fly--this was probably the first time he ever had. He was enjoying the feeling of the wind on his face. It seemed so...innocent. 

They made it home before long and Milarose touched down in the pasture, hanging the metal rod on the hooks that were buried in the barn wall for just this purpose. The deer swayed slightly but the rod stayed in place. Only then did he walk over to the trough outside the barn doors to hold Icarus over the water so he could drink, waiting patiently.

Icarus drank long and deeply, eyes closed and taking short, gasping breaths only when he absolutely needed to. And after several long moments, Icarus moved his head away from the trough, water dripping from his nostrils and down his whiskers. 

"Thank you," the kainu sighed in relief. "I thought you might live here. It's charming, really! I'm in love with the rustic, country living vibe."

Choosing to ignore the backhanded compliment, Milarose walked with the kainu to the barn doors and put his hand through the window calling, "Sammal, open the doors please."

There was a beat of silence in which Milarose could hear the nervous shuffling of multiple sets of hooves. They had heard Icarus, then, and knew he was here. The children had every right to be nervous, this was their home and a stranger had just been brought here. Milarose could only ask for their patience and tolerance.

"It's okay Sammal, he's calm and couldn't try anything if he wanted to," Milarose said, his voice understanding and gentle. 

After another moment, he felt the rope press into his palm and he pulled slowly but firmly, hearing the locking mechanism groan and shudder in protest but pull away to open the doors. He released the rope and stepped inside, shrinking himself slightly so he could fit more easily.

"Oh my!" Icarus breathed. "I knew some magic users could change their sizes but I've never experienced it myself, that was incredible!"

"Do you just say whatever comes to mind, or is there a thought process behind what comes out of your mouth?" Milarose asked as he hauled the kainu over to the corner of the barn farthest from the stalls. He scraped up bedding from where he made his own nest and set Icarus down rather unceremoniously. 

"A little of both I think," Icarus said thoughtfully. "Probably more the latter if I'm honest."

Milarose shook his head and turned to fetch the deer but paused when he saw children poking their heads out from behind hay bales and wooden walls. The only ones who didn’t look hostile were Rubin and Sammal, though Solpor was nowhere to be found. 

“Who’s that?” Giada demanded. 

“Is he going to stay with us?” Sammal asked, confused. “But he looks like an adult…” 

“He’s hurt,” Milarose explained, stepping out for a moment to bring the deer inside, dragging an old bucket close to himself. “He won’t be here for long, he just needs to rest and then he’ll be on his way.” 

“Don’t you worry!” Icarus said as he watched Milarose cut open one of the deer from navel to groin and pull the guts out. “I’m just a lost traveller is all, I won’t bother you and your father for long.” 

“He’s not our father,” Helmi snarled from the hayloft. This was a point of contention with him, one that Milarose had been very careful not to cross for fear of making the rift between him and the young dracus worse. 

“Oh, my mistake then,” Icarus said, sounding sincerely regretful. It didn’t last long, though, as he looked up and around at all the children he hadn’t seen before. “My goodness! Look at all of you, you’re an eclectic bunch aren’t you? Let’s see, I see a couple of young kainus like myself, a beautiful young sprite and--oh my I’m afraid I can’t quite see that one back there. I promise I don’t bite!” 

Solpor, who must have found the courage to investigate what was going on, shrank back, his glossy black coat blending in well with the shadows of the barn to hide him. 

“Is this a roll call?” Milarose asked dubiously. 

“It’s meant to be an introduction, but I understand your suspicion,” Icarus said with a slight nod. “I’m already invading your home, I might as well try to be friendly.” 

“Helmi,” Milarose called, “Would you please feed Azrinal while I prepare dinner?” 

After his previous threat of tearing down the hayloft, Helmi seemed to have come to the conclusion that doing as Milarose asked the first time he was asked would be the best way to get Milarose to leave him alone. But he made it clear that he wasn’t please with the arrangement by growling ferociously as he passed them on his way to the stalls. 

When Helmi returned holding Azrinal in his mouth by the neck, Icarus let out a quiet gasp and breathed excitedly, “Another one! Please, are your breeds? I’ve traveled far and wide and have yet to encounter drakiri like yourselves!” 

Helmi didn’t so much as look at Icarus before he headed straight for the door, setting Azrinal down in the bedding nearest to it so he could round up the cows in their pens. 

“They’re dracus,” Giada sneered. “Even babies know that. Are you a baby?” 

“Oh I certainly am not,” Icarus chuckled, giving his head a little bow. “See my horns? But asking questions is a very grown up thing to do. If you never ask questions, you’ll never learn anything new!” 

Giada stared at Icarus for a long moment before letting out a defensive snort. He turned and stomped over to Milarose, stating, “This guy’s weird! I don’t like him. Mila, make him go away!” 

Milarose, who was wrist deep in the last of the deer he needed to clean out, took a slow breath and let it out in a quiet sigh. Giada was always a difficult one to handle. He was a smart kid, but he let his aggression get the better of him sometimes and it could make him quite a handful. 

“You don’t have to like him, but I’m asking you to tolerate him until he’s well enough to move on,” Milarose said tolerantly.

“I heard the way you told him off this morning when he was sniffing around the barn,” Giada accused. “You don’t trust him either!” 

“I don’t have to trust him to want to help him,” Milarose retorted. “That’s a lesson you ought to learn, Giada.” 

“I don’t think Giada’s wrong to worry,” Sammal said in a small voice. She didn’t look at any of them, clearly uncomfortable with her own concerns, but she was brave enough to voice them regardless. 

“If I may,” Icarus started, but Milarose growled lowly. 

“You may not,” the blue dracus said. He turned his gaze back to Giada as he dragged another bucket toward himself, tearing the limbs off the carcasses and dropping them into it. “It’s fine that you are concerned, and you don’t have to trust him. But I’d like you to trust me. You’ve trusted me to get you this far, haven’t you?” 

He watched as Giada gritted his teeth but considered what he said. The questions forced him to think rather than react, and after a moment he let out a frustrated grunt and pawed at the floor of the barn. 

“Fine,” he said, turning away. Before he could go far though, Rubin appeared, looking over at the stranger as his nostrils twitched. 

“Rules,” the large kainu said. 

Milarose dropped the last of the deer into the bucket and slid it closer to the barn door, grabbing a rag to wipe his hands on. “Fair point, go ahead Sammal, tell him the rules,” he said. 

Sammal jumped a little when she was spoken to, standing up. She glanced over her shoulder when Helmi approached to take Azrinal from her, and only once she saw him nearing the cows did she turn to approach Icarus. The kainu looked eager to hear what she had to say, not annoyed that there were rules he had to follow--that was a good sign. 

“There are only a few, but they’re important so you gotta follow them,” Sammal said softly. 

“Let me hear them,” Icarus encouraged her. “You’re doing great, dear.” 

Sammal smiled, feeling a little more confident in talking to the stranger now. She danced in place a little before she sat down and wrapped her tail around her hooves, though she couldn’t stop the tip of it from twitching eagerly. 

“If you’re here, you’re here,” she said with a stern nod. “This is a home, not a hotel. You stay until you’re ready to leave--” 

“And when you’re ready to leave, you can’t live here again,” Giada interrupted. “You can visit but you can’t just come back and stay. So that means no adults!” 

“That isn’t what it means and I think you know that,” Milarose corrected. He rubbed his face, tired already despite the nap he’d taken, but he continued to explain, “This is a halfway house of sorts. I find lost or orphaned children and give them a place to grow and learn how to support themselves. When they’ve learned everything I can teach them, they move on. It isn’t a perfect system, but it works.” 

“That’s a very noble pursuit,” Icarus said, smiling. “Do you receive any funding or help with the children?” 

Milarose gestured around the barn, a bemused expression crossing his face. “Does it look like I receive funding?” he asked. “We do what we can with what we have, anything more is out of the question.” 

Icarus nodded very slightly and then his golden eyes moved to watch as Helmi stalked back into the barn, Azrinal clasped lightly between his teeth. They’d only been out there for a short time, but already the child’s belly was round, lips wet with milk as his small nose snuffled. He still couldn’t see, but he was already eager to investigate the world around him. 

Helmi passed Azrinal to Rubin, who carried the child to the stall where they kept him. The young dracus turned piercing yellow eyes to look at Icarus, a low growl rumbling deep in his throat. 

“The last rule is that if you become a threat, you will be treated like a threat,” Helmi said. “We don’t like strangers. We trust no one. You’d do well to move on quickly.” 

Icarus’s whiskers trembled as he grinned, saying excitedly, “That was perfect! So fearsome for one so young!” 

“Helmi’s the oldest one here,” Sammal corrected, watching the green drakiri stalk away and climb the ramp again to return to his spot in the hayloft. 

“He’s called a bantam,” Milarose explained as he padded toward the firewood pile he had stacked neatly against the wall of the barn. He picked up several large logs and tucked them under one arm. “He’s nearly full grown. He simply isn’t ready to leave yet, and that’s okay.” 

He walked outside to the fire pit that was set away from anything flammable and built a large fire, using a flint and steel to light it. He used the same metal pole to skewer the chunks of deer and set them to cook over the fire, giving them a slight turn occasionally. Unfortunately he had no seasonings, but that didn’t seem to bother the children any. 

Milarose stood there at the firepit for a long time, watching the flames dance across the logs and leap up to lick the fat that bubbled and sizzled on the meat. He felt his mind trying to wander to places he would much rather not visit, places he had spent a long time trying to forget but seemed unable to shake from himself. 

When he returned from the outskirts of those places in his mind, the meat was nearly burned. He pulled the metal rod away from the fire quickly, dumping it into the bucket he'd carried it out in and turning toward the barn once more. 

His ears laid back when he saw Icarus watching Sammal as she trotted around the barn. The kainu's gaze was locked on her, a strange fascination in his expression that urged Milarose to walk up to the stranger, put his louth very close to his ear and growl, "She's a child. Look elsewhere or you will no longer have eyes."

Icarus looked up at Milarose without fear in his eyes. "I assure you, you've no reason to entertain such worries about me. I am a scholar, I find intrigue in all things around me, including the faintly glowing marks on her, in that lightning-like pattern. It is a mark I've yet to come across, I was only committing it to memory so I can record it later." He smiled and added, "A father who worries is a diligent protector, I do not blame you for your suspicion." 

"You've known me all of an hour," Milarose said dryly, "you can keep your flattery. I've no use for it. Keep to yourself and if the children approach you, be courteous."

Icarus nodded in agreement and understanding, bowing his head a little lower when Milarose took the bucket of deer to begin passing it out among the children who had begun to gather. He was ravenous, but Icarus would wait patiently for what he knew would eventually be offered to him.

As he laid there in the nest that had been hastily made for him, Icarus couldn't help but reflect on what had happened. What a prickly bunch he had found himself hosted by! He would have to keep an eye on that Helmi in the future. Rare or not, he got the feeling the bantam dracus wouldn't hesitate to claw his ears off given half a chance. Giada had been outwardly aggressive toward his presence there too, but that seemed more like youthful indiscretion rather than hostility. 

The colorful kainu felt welcome in this place despite his rocky introduction. He had travelled all over and seen so many people and places, but he always found something new to excite him. This place, an orphanage run by a dracus who clearly had some deep-seeded and repressed issues he refused to address? What a find! Oh how he wished he had his notebooks with him.

"What's your name?" a small voice asked.

Icarus blinked, his ears perking up as he realized the question was directed at him. Sammal stood before him with a brush hanging on a thong from one of her whiskers. 

"You know my name," she said, "but I don't know yours. All the boys talked over you so I didn't get to hear."

"Boys do that a lot don't they?" Icarus asked.

"Sometimes they do," Sammal said bashfully. "They're bigger than me and push me around sometimes when they're playing."

"When they get rough with you, just stick them on the bum with your horn, they'll learn right quick to keep an eye out for you," Icarus suggested.

That earned him a giggle that warmed Icarus's heart. The laughter of children was one of the most pure sounds he could think of. It drew a warm laugh from him as well before he said, "My name is Icarus Sinbad, it's lovely to meet you." 

“Thank you, it’s nice to meet you too,” Sammal said. She scuffed her hoof on the floor and then asked, “You travel a lot...have you been to the sea?” 

“Not in a long time,” Icarus said wistfully. “But I’d love to visit again. Maybe you can go see it someday.” 

Her face fell and her curled ears laid back as she looked away. She said quietly, “I broke my leg real bad. It’s healed now, but I can’t walk or run too much or it hurts. Mila did the best he could to make it heal right, but it didn’t.” 

Icarus nodded solemnly, understanding the child’s concerns. 

“Well, the wonderful thing about adventures is that you don’t have to go at anyone’s pace but your own,” he said, hoping to reassure her. “I’m sure that when you’re ready, you’ll find a way to make it work.” 

She seemed a little less upset about her circumstance, and she gave herself a little shake before she stepped forward and held the brush up to him. 

“If you’d like, I could help you brush down,” she offered. “You’ve got some uh…” 

“Dirt?” Icarus chuckled. “Yes, I’d imagine so. Leave the brush here dear, I think that’s a task I might ask Milarose to help with after our meal. Why don’t you check on young Azrinal, hmm? I’m sure he could use some company.” 

“Oh, okay,” Sammal chirped. “I’ll see you later then!” 

She set the brush down and trotted away toward the stalls with her tail swishing behind her. AS soon as she turned the corner, Icarus let out a slow sigh and allowed his chin to rest on the scratchy bedding. He enjoyed talking with and learning about the children here, but he was struggling just to keep his eyes open at that point. He just needed to rest his eyes…

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