Plague of Mybyncia (45 page)

Once they’re gone, Clarence breathes out a
sigh of relief. “Thank God it went the way it did.”

“Yeah, with Tucker still retaining all his
limbs,” Jace agrees.

“Will he be okay?” Pratt asks.

Sampson nods. “He’ll need the rest of the day
and tonight for recovery. But we need to get back to Mybyncia as
soon as possible.”

“When are you thinking?” Vix asks.

“Tomorrow.”

“Don’t want to stay for more than a minute?”
Jace scratches his chin, staring off after a few skimpily dressed
tribeswomen. “Socialize with some of the natives…”

“I have no interest in socializing with their
females,” Sampson exhales. “And neither should you.”

He shrugs. “I can get past the fur.”

“We need to get the Nazual back to Mybyncia
as soon as possible,” Sampson explains, “once they’re recovering
and Qippert has healed, he’ll take us to find Blovid.
That’s
our next goal.”

“But we’re coming back, right?” Reid glances
momentarily at Pratt and Mae.

“Yes. Once we locate Blovid and regroup,
we’ll return to Nerwolix for the next phase.”

“Next phase of what?” Pratt asks.

“Of this war. Tucker’s victory should be
acknowledged, and I do intend to fully celebrate his accomplishment
tonight. But this is still just the beginning. We must return to
Mybyncia as soon as possible. Blovid, no doubt, is awaiting our
arrival. We mustn’t keep him waiting too much longer.”

Silence falls until Clarence gestures up the
tree. “Shall we?”

Vix opens the wooden latch, leading everyone
through the hollowed trunk and after a few minutes, we reach the
canopy top. Sampson, Clarence and Vix take the lead, bringing us
toward Walker’s home where Tucker is laid out on the red cushions
in the back, eyes closed and asleep.

Sampson moves to stand over him, shaking his
head. “Wish I had some Vilbrees.”

“What’s that?”

“It’s like a healing ointment. Speeds the
recovery of any ailment.”

“Oh…” Walker rises, crossing the room. “I’ve
got something like that. It’s made of Tregmint.”

“You have Tregmint here?” Clarence’s eyes
grow wide.

“Yeah… at least, I think that’s what it’s
called,” Walker returns with a bowl of the familiar blue green mush
and sits next to Tucker. “Warze applied some to me when I finished
the tasks. Horrop got me real bad with its fang and this stuff
helped
tremendously
.”

“It is,” Sampson takes a closer look, shock
marring his face. “I didn’t realize Tregmint grew on Nerwolix.”

“Maybe just out here,” Clarence says. “Might
not grow around Thias.”

“I’ve never seen it,” Sampson shakes his
head. “Hmm… good to know.”

“This should help the Rogue Leader,” Walker
spreads some of the mixture on Tucker’s swollen eye. “He’ll be
alright in time for the celebration tonight.”

“Pratt,” Sampson gestures her to take over.
“Want to help?”

“Yep,” she jumps up and retrieves the bowl
from Walker’s hand. “Poor Tucker…”

“And what do we expect for tonight
again?”

“Eating, dancing,” Walker shrugs. “Got to
dress the part though.”

“How so?”

Walker scans me. “Proper attire. Anyone who
attends the celebration must wear the animal hides,” he glances
over his shoulder. “Vix can get the girls’. I’ll round up the
boys’.”

“Thank you.”

“Not a problem,” he winks.

“And the Nazual,” Sampson presses. “When can
we retrieve them?”

“Now, if you want. As long as you stay the
night for the celebration, you can leave tomorrow with them.”

“Wonderful.”

“I can take Sampson to get the Nazuals if you
want to get them changed,” Walker turns to Able.

“Warze?”

Walker shakes his head. “Zeed will get you
what you need. Grab something for Tucker and Sampson here too. Come
on,” he leads the way toward the red curtain, Sampson on his tail,
“how many you think you need?”

“Not sure, but I’d assume a full bush may do
the trick,” he follows Walker out.

“Alright,” Clarence clasps his hands, turning
to Able. “Let’s get dressed.”

“And we’ll be wearing the same thing?” Jace
scans Able’s beige and brown animal hide. “Do they come in any
other color?”

“Yeah—let me check the back of the
store.”

Reid walks toward Able. “Let’s grab our
clothes and be back here before Tucker wakes up. Vix,” he turns to
her, “you’ll get the girls situated and meet us back here?”

“It will take awhile to get them ready. We
shall see you at the beginning of the celebration later.”

“Alright,” he glances at me quickly but
averts focus. Bypassing Clarence with Able on his heel, Reid is
already heading for the flapping curtain, “I don’t want to leave
Tucker for too long.”

The rest of the Rogues disappear and we do
the same, retreating to Vix’s home, which is similar to Walker’s,
except it’s a quarter of the size. Three jars of the oversized
fireflies light up the space with red cushions carpeting the floor
and a long bed right down the middle. It’s a tight squeeze to get
the four of us in, but we make it work. Vix leaves to get the
clothes and we sort of hang around the room for a bit. After a
while, she returns with several garments in hand.

“Here,” Vix dispenses the same black and
brown animal hide that the rest of the females have worn. “You will
want to wrap this piece around your torso and this one over your
bottom.”

“Is this it?” I take two very tiny sections
of the material.

Vix exhales. “Yes. I am afraid so.”

Holy shit.

There’s almost nothing here. How are we
expected to wear this… and
only
this? Mae and Pratt take
their garments and begin undressing so I quickly do the same.
Trying not to think of what I’ll look like, I strip and apply the
animal hides over my skin as best as I can. Once I’m done, I glance
down at myself, trying not to cringe.

One narrow piece wraps around my chest,
barely covering my breasts, which are almost bulging out at the
top. The other section—somewhat larger—hangs off my hips, but only
makes it to the top of my thighs. Like Mae, I’m fighting the urge
to cover myself since these are
way
more revealing than the
garments on Mybyncia.

Pratt doesn’t seem to mind. All the hides are
around the same size so they’re larger on her smaller frame,
shielding more of her body. I wish it was the same for Mae and I;
it’s almost like we’re walking around in our underwear—our
extremely
skimpy underwear. And it’s not like we can ask for
something different. This is what Vix was given for us to wear—it’s
what she’s wearing. There is no way we can come out in anything
else.

“Fallon…” Mae’s voice shakes as she glances
over herself with fear. “It’s too…”

“I know,” I tug on the short end of the
skirt, which rises higher up my thigh.

“I feel naked.”

“You will get use to it,” Vix says, “but the
others will be wearing the same. No one will be looking at
you.”

“Except the boys,” Mae struggles with her
top. “I don’t want them seeing me like this. I feel exposed.”

“Come,” Vix motions for her to take a seat on
the bed, “sit. I must prepare your hair.”

“How?”

“Zingfinolds prefer it with plaits,” she
indicates Mae to sit again. Once she does, Vix runs her fingers
through Mae’s short black bob. “I will give you two small ones
joining at the crown of your head here. See? Just two. “

“Okay.”

Vix gets to work, pulling the front side
sections of Mae’s black hair back and into one long braid down the
center. Once she’s finished, she has Pratt sit and does the same,
but incorporates several mini plaits into the overall design.
Finally, she has me sit, fluffing my curly hair for a minute.

“Very beautiful.”

“Thank you.”

“This will be a challenge,” she handles a
section of curls on either side of my face, right up near my eyes.
“I can do something similar as with Mae. Plait it here,” she pulls
them to the crown of my head, “and down the back.”

“That’s fine.”

As she works, the sky dims to a dark blue and
finally, to a solid, charcoal black. The fireflies light up Vix’s
tiny home, warming it in rosy shades as Mae struggles with her top
behind me, adjusting it every few minutes. I’m dying to do the same
but Vix has already scolded me for moving so I stay still, praying
my top doesn’t just bust right open.

“Why are they so small?”

“What?”

“Our clothes,” I say, itching to cover
myself.

“The Zingfinolds are a simple people,” she
tugs the braid, tightening it. “They believe in the beauty of their
bodies.”

“If that’s the case, why even bother with
clothes?”

“It is a sign of civilization. Achievement,”
she takes a deep breath. “You see, the Zingfinolds descend from
Nerwos, the original inhabitants of Nerwolix. A very long time ago,
before King Thias sat on the throne, a few believed in a
freer
government, a society without classes or stature. Once
they voiced these beliefs, they were cast out immediately, naked
and without food, told to survive on their ideals. They were
expected to die in a fortnight,” Vix pauses, her hand still on my
braid. “They did not. They migrated all the way here and on the
first night conquered the Horrop. They clothed themselves with its
skin and fed themselves with its meat. Once word made it back of
their survival, many more Nerwos seceded. Together they rejected
their previous identities, forming a new colony that ranked each
other as
equals
. They chose to call themselves
Zingfinolds—it means
brother of brother, one of one
.”

“But they have a king,” Pratt frowns. “How is
that equal?”

“Even equals need a leader,” Vix works the
braid down below my shoulders. “Hozfin is their chosen guide. Once
he passes, they will elect a new leader, someone to keep peace and
order, someone to continue guidance.”

“I guess that makes sense.”

“The Zingfinolds don the hide of the Horrop
as a reminder of all they conquered. Strength—the ability to
recognize and voice their ideals. Diligence—the ability to keep
going, keep fighting with nothing. And bravery—the ability to
withhold mercy on their weakness and fear, to do what they must for
those ideals.”

“But still…” Mae tugs at her top again, “so
skimpy?”

“It is the way of the Zingfinold and so, we
must honor it. There,” Vix releases my hair. “All done.”

Standing, I run a hand down the back of my
curls, my fingertips brushing over the plait in the center. “Thank
you.”

“It it time we leave and meet the others,”
she points toward the red curtain, Pratt taking the lead. Mae still
pulls at her skirt and I follow behind, trying not to tug at my
own. Vix indicates to the narrow tree on the other side of the
downward slanting bridge. “This will be a celebration on the
ground.”

Once we’ve descended the carved stairwell in
the hollow of a trunk, we arrive on the forest base and find it
already packed with tribesmen. Bone lanterns hoist up jars of the
brightly glowing fireflies in a giant circular perimeter,
illuminating the night in a soft yellow glow. Red and black drums
have been brought down and a handful of tribesmen sit over them,
playing a fast paced melody that blends into the vibrant
energy.

Perry stands in the center of a group of
young Zingfinolds while the Rogues situate themselves nearby, all
huddled around Tucker, who seems well rested. Donned in longer
hides that hang from their hips down to their knees, they’re all
laughing over a story Able is telling. They don’t notice as we make
our way over until one by one, each looks up, eyes wide and jaws
dropping. Jace jabs Reid in his ribs, distracting him from a laugh
but once he finds me, his smile vanishes.

Able’s brows shoot up too, his eyes
flickering over Mae who silently shakes next to me. “Yowza!”

Reid gulps, scanning my body.

“Why do you guys get to wear more than us?” I
motion to Jace’s bottoms.

“Technically,” Able says, “I think we’re
wearing less.”

“You have less to hide.”

“You shouldn’t have to hide any of that,”
Jace strokes his chin as Reid jabs him back in the ribs. “Sorry,
Boss. It’s kind of hard not to—”

“Go splash some cold water on yourself.”

“S-sure thing, Rox,” Jace reluctantly pulls
the others away with him, leaving Reid with Pratt, Mae, Vix and
me.

He barely glances at the other three, keeping
his focus on me. Gulping, he clears his throat. “You look…
good.”

“Not too exposed?”

He rubs the back of his neck with a shy grin.
“I don’t mind.”

“Did Sampson and Walker collect all the
Nazual we need?” Pratt asks.

“Yeah,” Reid tears his eyes away for the
first time. “Got about three bushes. Should be more than
enough.”

“Do we need that many?” Mae asks.

“Not really sure. But it’s better to be safe
than sorry.”

“I fully agree,” Sampson interjects, Clarence
on his heels. “One bud should do it and we’ve collected about
eighty of them. I feel safe in saying we have more than enough to
turn Mybyncia around in no time.”

“Why so many?” Pratt asks.

“In case this happens again. Chancellor
Keller should have a generous supply should this toxin find its way
into their waters again.”

“Do you think they’ll repay you for
this?”

“Repay
us
,” Clarence corrects,
gesturing towards Tucker and the other Rogues on their way back.
“Repay Tucker most importantly.”

“And they’ll repay with aiding us in the
upcoming months,” Sampson adds just as the rest join.

“So uh…” Jace rubs his hands together, “when
are we going to eat?”

“And
drink
?” Werzo asks.

“They’ll be bringing out the cooked Horrop
here in a minute,” Clarence glances over his shoulder. “Have as
much as you want. This is a celebration,” he squeezes Tucker’s
shoulder, “since we’ll be leaving for Mybyncia tomorrow.”