The War Against Aberon (Rough Draft #1)

Chapter Ten

     "You can hear my voice yes?" Zaffre's face went blank as she heard the sarcasm dripping off Freya's tongue.

    "I was just surprised, I've had a lot going on the past two months, and what do you mean this is the bond plane? What even is the bond plane?" Zaffre took the liberty of making her voice overly posh sounding when talking about this weird mental existence.

    "The bond plane is the place of connection for soul connectors. It's a place created for those whose souls are intertwined. It's why you can hear me speak. This place is not in the physical realm where our bodies are trapped within mere mortal capabilities. Our soul stone exists here, the gem was created after our bond was formed." As she spoke Zaffre realized the Pumeon had an accent that was completely unfamiliar. It was unlike anything she'd ever heard, all the words came out harsh as if Freya was angry. Except when Zaffre stared at her she could see she was completely relaxed, almost bored.

    "Why show me this? Why did you choose me as your bond?" Freya sighed in exasperation.

    "Look at the stone," Zaffre brought her eyes to the mystifying orb, "you see how it glows, how it pulses? That is our life force powering it. Half of the stone is made from your soul, you make it shine how it is, you make it look that beautiful, I saw the glimmer when I looked at you. You are a blunderbuss of a person, but your soul, your insides are something to admire."

    Did she just call me an idiot? Zaffre thought. "I don't know whether to be insulted or to thank you," her words came out grumbly.

    "To be complimented by my kind is a high honor, you should bow in my presence," amusedly Freya spoke.

    "The day I bow for you is the day I lie down and die," Zaffre gave the same attitude right back.

    At their conversation, the two fell into giggles as Zaffre's eyes squinted closed in laughter. When she calmed down, her eyes opened to reveal she was back in her realm. The forest all around, the sun high as if no time passed, and Freya sitting in front of her, a grin on her feline face. For a moment she was unsettled until her mind finally caught up with the fact that the abyss of the soul plane was no longer her surroundings. She glanced around a moment as a glint of something shiny glimpsed the corner of her eye.

    "The sword!" She rushed over to pick up the blade. It was just as she left it, pristine condition, as it lay in the grass.

    Now, with all her belongings in check, she could finally return home. As she had that thought, however, she realized one thing. Freya. How would she explain the behemoth to her mother? For one thing, she was a beast that many were too scared of to utter the name of. For another, she was ginormous and would not fit anywhere. There was no space on the farm, of course, she could stay in the forest, but bonds had to stay together right? It was giving her a headache just thinking about all the things she'd marked as "later thought snacking".

    Zaffre felt something bump into her as she stood rubbing her head with a hand as a dull ache began at the front of her skull. Her head swiveled to see the furry face of her bond looking at her with concerned purple eyes. Freya nudged her slightly again with her head as if asking, "What's the problem?". Zaffre briefly wondered why she didn't just ask her before remembering that the large cat could not speak in the normal plane of existence.

    "I'm not sure what to do with you when we get back to the farm. My mother might have a heart attack at the sight of you, and there's no space anywhere for you to sleep," she spoke with her won concern. The Pumeon simply shrugged, clearly unperturbed by Zaffre's worries.

     "You're absolutely no help at all." The beast gained an expression that said she thought herself better than Zaffre ever could be. Unfortunately, she was probably right, what was she besides a farm girl? That seemed minuscule to the sight of the scaled being of power standing just behind her.

    Freya clearly had glimpsed some of the emotions Zaffre was feeling as she moved to head butt her once more, but she stepped to the side. "Shall we go home?" She was walking before she got a reply.

...

    It was only another hour or two before the familiar sight of the horse field, crop rows, and cottage came into view. Just past the trees, Zaffre could see her home, coming into view. The afternoon sun had only grown hotter as the day progressed and Zaffre briefly wondered if it was mid Summer instead of near the start of fall. Her thoughts paused when she saw the shape of her mother out in the horse field brushing down one of their mares. The grey horse seemed quite happy with the grooming, but that was the only joy in the sight. Even from a distance, Zaffre could note the stiffness in her mother's movements. She was clearly more worried than Zaffre ever thought she could be.

    She stepped out of the trees after motioning for Freya to stay back. The Pumeon was upset with that idea, but Zaffre wanted to give the news carefully, not with the Big Cat simply bounding out unto the grasses of their land. She moved slowly closer, being cautious so as not to spook her mom or the horses grazing nearby.

    "Mom?" she said once in speaking range. The middle-aged Felipara was startled at Zaffre's voice. It wasn't even a second later that the horse brush was dropped to the ground and an exclamation of "Zaffre!" left her mother's lips before she was wrapped in her mother's arms.

    "I'm okay momma, I'm okay," she placated. It took a moment for Jahzarni to settle before she stepped back for her daughter and swatted her on the arm.

    "Don't...you...ever...go...off...like...that...again!" Each word was emphasized by another swat. None of the small slaps were painful, but they clearly reinforced her mother's point.

     After her anger was released, Jahzarni eyed up her daughter with a calculating once-over. The mother hen look in her eyes almost made Zaffre shudder as she saw the pure determination to take care of her in the gaze of her mom. How could a parent be so scary? Once she accessed her for injury, circling her twice, she came back to face Zaffre.

    "Are you hurt?" This question made her think about the fact that she'd never even contemplated for more than a second the random disappearance of her injuries. She didn't wait long to respond though, she didn't want to upset her mother and she could always ask Freya later. 

    "No."

    "Did you go out hunting the Volbrix?"

    "Yes."

    "Is it dead?"

    "Yes."

    Seemingly satisfied with the interrogation, the mom of one moved to go back to grooming the still grazing and happy mare. Zaffre stopped her though as she motioned for Freya to emerge from the trees. The Pumeon did so happily, almost a skip in her step as she made her way quickly closer.

    "Mom, this is Freya, she is my bond," she said uneasily, the fear in her mom's eyes at the sight of the beast made her worried.

    As it should have because not even a second later a terrified scream left the indigo Felipara's lips. 

Word Count-1279

Total Count So Far-13,762