Chapter: 689 – Delays and Timing

Tala didn’t rush, but she also didn’t dawdle as she led her family after the familiar figure—the familiar aura.

Sure enough, she was able to find the turtle-kin sitting placidly on a park bench, feeding strips of raw meat to a mixed flock of little terror birds, ravens, crows, and other avians of all stripes: mundane, arcane, and even two magical.

The two magical birds were both ruby red, seemingly of the cardinal variety, their feathers actually having some of the iridescence and facets of gems, though they were still clearly capable of flight. The magics the two held were a variety that Tala hadn’t seen before, and as the family approached, the two birds looked their way, narrowing their eyes in obvious hostility.

Do birds even have eyelids?

-Terry does, but even if the mundane ones don’t, these clearly do.-

Fair enough.

The fact that the birds were barely in the Mature—or Fused—level meant it wouldn’t have really been an issue either way, but before anything could happen one way or another, the turtle–kin smiled and spoke, his voice somehow lost to Tala’s ears.

Even so, the birds clearly heard him, and they all looked his way before hopping as a group over to one side, away from the oncoming humans, allowing the Sappherrous family to approach while they were continuing to be fed.

The man looked up at Tala, meeting her gaze after looking over her family and smiling. His eyes had rested on Terry for a longer moment than on the others. “I am glad that you found him.”

Terry let out a chirp, flickering to the turtle-kin’s knee for a moment, where he got a few scritches under his chin before he returned, settling on Tala’s shoulder.

Terrapin eyes moved over the Sappherrouses again, and his smile grew. “I see that you found all that you sought after we last met. That gladdens my heart, young one.”

Maddeningly—but not unexpectedly—Tala couldn’t determine the turtle’s advancement. It was odd because his aura was clear, and she could easily get the sense of age and power from him, but the actual level of power wasn’t in evidence. To be safe, and to express just how much gratitude she felt, Tala bowed low, her husband and daughter following suit. “Thank you for your advice so many years ago. I was lost, alone, and in need, and you gave me hope when I had all but none.”

He gave a slow nod. “When it is darkest and despair is all around, even the smallest light can be more than enough to provide insight.”

“I don’t know that I would say your light was small, but truly and sincerely, thank you.”

He nodded again.

Rane cleared his throat. “My wife has mentioned you many times over the years. I want to thank you as well. It seems you don’t believe you did much, but we benefited from even that little.”

The turtle-kin met Rane’s gaze and held it for a long time. Finally, he sighed. “Those on top of the mountain see much and can offer a broad view or general guidance with very little effort, but sometimes they cannot see the ruts in the road.”

Rane’s eyes widened, clearly taking something more from the turtle’s words than Tala had. He bowed low, even deeper this time. “I understand. Thank you. I will not claim to be in your debt, but if there is any service I can offer…?”

He waved Rane off as soon as the man straightened. “I have no need. Those who wait do so in different manners, but we all need only for time to pass.”

Then it clicked for Tala, her eyes widening. -There you go.-

You could have told me.

-I saw you were about to understand. I didn’t want to take that from you.-

…Fine.

“Are you referring to…” Tala carefully chose her next words. “…one who is on a mountain?” A weight settled on the park, Tala and Rane straining under the sudden knowledge of the focused, powerful observation, while Lea remained blissfully unaware and unaffected, her senses incapable of understanding. At the sensation, Tala stopped speaking, having gotten her answer and knowing that while she’d come close, she had not breached Rane’s given word. Still, it had clearly been enough to draw attention, which surprised her. Unless his interest was already drawn for some other reason…

The turtle-kin sighed, then turned and looked north—over the heads of his birds—speaking under his breath. “Calm yourself.”

The feeling seemed to roil for a moment, the void in greater evidence, and the birds took flight as one—the terror birds sprinting away in varied directions—before the feeling retreated.

“Rusting layabout.” The man shook his head as he shifted on the bench before looking toward where the birds had been. “No respect for this old turtle.”

Tala’s eye twitched, and she was left uncertain what to say next.

Lea had no such issue, as she’d lacked the perception and understanding to even begin to grasp what had occurred.

-It’s interesting, weren’t we just Fused when we met him last?-

Yes… I suppose that it’s no wonder Lea isn’t seeing any of what we are, and I suppose it’s not surprising we missed any hint of this back then.

Lea threw the turtle-kin a sheepish smile. “I’m sorry, we’ve scared away your birds.”

“Not at all, child. You’ve done nothing wrong.” He smiled in turn, giving an almost theatrical pause. “Oh, excuse me, young miss. You are Mature now, no longer a child.”

Lea grinned at that. “Yes, sir. I just advanced.”

“I can see that. It is good to embrace who you are, only then can you strive to become who you want to be.”

She nodded, replying politely. “Yes sir.”

He sighed. “I do apologize for the timing, we are cutting it close.”

Tala frowned. “What do you mean?”

“I…” He frowned. “I selfishly wanted to meet your whole family, but I cannot meet with the immature without… causing issues within them. My selfish whim was almost…” He shook his head. “Apologies, I’m rambling.”

If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

Tala’s frown deepened. “What are we cutting close to?”

“To events I cannot participate in, nor influence by discussing further.” The turtle hesitated again. Then, he seemed to decide something, turning back to Lea. “When seeking to Refine ourselves—”

He cut off as a raven landed on a nearby roof.

Tala glanced at it, detecting oddly familiar magics and reality connections. Is that… a spy? Some one is using a bird to spy on us? She hadn’t seen that done in years, even since the beginning of her time in Platoiri before she found Terry again. Now that she thought about it, she almost never saw birds of any kind in the arcane cities, at least not anywhere close by… Huh, I wonder why that—

Terry flickered, and the bird was gone, a visible bulge suddenly evident in the terror bird’s throat as he sat on Tala’s shoulder.

-Oh… that’s where the nearby birds and bird-spies have gone.-