Friend or Fo: Chapter One: A Friend in the Valley

Studying the new portal, Fo pondered it, eyes narrow. It looked a bit like Aridin… or perhaps Faedin. But with the oscillating greens mixed with the shine of something large and metallic in the distance, it appeared to be neither. In fact, it didn’t appear to be any place he personally recognized. 

In fact, none of his past lives seemed to know it, either; an odd development, given their combined total years of experience. But, most seemed to agree it appeared, for all intents and purposes, safe enough. 

“Look at these edges, though…” one of the souls whispered, shimmering to life as a soft purple flame, swirling to direct Fo’s attention. “The portal is…  unstable. It won’t last forever.” 

“So what you’re saying is that, if I’m going to take any time to explore this place-” 

“Yes. It has to be now. You may never get this kind of chance again.” 

Fo nodded slowly, the purple flame rebounding into his chest and disappearing into his soft, heather skin, as pale, lavender eyes poured over the tattered edges of time and space with the intensity of a scholar deep in the study of an ancient text. What-ifs and now-whats skittered around in his mind like ants trying to protect their colony. 

And yet, in spite of the scurrying and hurrying, there would always be an ant or two who would wander off in search of the sugar pile known as adventure. 

Taking a deep breath, the servanti pressed his hand flat against the soft membrane that separated Voelo - having been gone for some time, he had returned to see his daughter and son-in-law, check in on his grandchildren and the greats, and visit Linte’s grave - from this new land. Tilting his hand forward until the front half of his hand poked through to the other side, he found it was warmer than the pine forest, though not by much, with a bit more humidity making the pads of his fingers sticky, though not so tacky as perhaps Aridin might. 

Amidst his observations, something cold and wet touched him. 

With a shout, Fo whipped his hand back out of the portal and stumbled. He teetered backwards, then over-corrected, sending himself head over heels into the unknown. 

thump! 

Fo’s nose was filled with the scent of green grass and earth. He rolled over to gaze up at the clean, endless blue sky. The wind rustled through the trees, adding a cooling motion to the otherwise slightly overheated air. 

A celestial land? Perhaps some heaven or another? He couldn’t tell, but he felt content to just… lay there for a minute; to lay in the soft, cool dirt, letting the sun’s light cascade over his face and chest while he just breathed. 

“Brrao?” 

Fo turned his head to see a cat sitting nearby, cocking its head curiously, tail flicking as it eyes him with green curiosity. Silver fur with black swirls glistened, healthy and whole. Perhaps it was someone’s pet. That would explain why it wasn’t running away, certainly. 

Cold and wet… like a little kitty nose. His earlier kerfuffle now made sense. 

“Oh… hello there. Did you touch me earlier? Did you give me a little kiss?” He sat up and gently patted the ground in front of him. “Come here, kitty… I’m sorry I scared you.” 

The kitty stretched, a pair of soft, white-tipped wings spreading out off of its back before relaxing, then sauntered over, tail up with a lazy, relaxed curve in the end. For a moment, the servanti thought the multiple lobes on its ears were battle scars. However, as the creature got closer, he noted the splits were natural and just part of the cat’s body. In fact, for a cat, it seemed to have a remarkable lack of cuts and bumps, further suggesting, at least to him, that the little baby was someone’s pet. 

Rather than pausing to sniff his hand, the kit kept walking, plodding up into his lap and standing up, putting its paws on Fo’s chest to sniff his mouth. Now that it was even closer, the servanti heard the soft, pervasive purr, even felt it as the little critter kneaded his chest with its big, soft paws. The pur vibrated through his chest, back into his spine and up his neck. 

So peaceful… so calming… Normally he wouldn’t feel comfortable just laying back in an unknown land, but he found his head back in the dirt. He didn’t remember laying down, and yet this gap in his memory didn’t alarm him. It seemed unimportant compared to the fluffy silver baby laying on his chest. 

It’s okay to take a rest, you know… Just breathe. 

The voice in his head didn’t sound like one of his… but the others didn’t seem alarmed, either. Rather, for the first time in a long time, they all seemed to be of the same mind. 

Just breathe. 

You haven’t taken a break since your wife died… You went straight to work in Aridin, then took on multiple young adventurers to help them move forward. Would you want to see them work themselves to exhaustion in an attempt to keep from thinking about something that happened to someone they loved?

“Of course not…” he murmured aloud. “I’d make sure they had some time to take a break.” 

The kitty’s ears twitched, and it blinked slowly at him. 

So why is it okay for you to do?

“I’m older than most of them. If I don’t take the time to help them when I find them, how am I supposed to give them the support they need?” 

But what about the support you need? Have you taken a day to just… be, or does every day have to be constructed down to the second? You aren’t doing anyone any favors by running on fumes. 

“I can’t.” Fo felt his eyelids growing heavy, his breaths slowing down, every rise and fall of his chest weighted seemingly a little more with every exhale. “What if I-” 

A soft little paw with a white mitten papped between his eyes. 

Sleep, the voice assured him. I’ll still be here when you wake up. 

Fo tried to fight it, eyelids twitching before sleep took over with a long sigh. 

Amaru took a moment to knead a little more and make themselves comfortable before settling back in and closing their eyes. So stubborn, this one… but they would take care of him, at least until he learned to take care of himself.