Page 24 of Nixx
The meeting drags on. I explained the situation in the North, the mysterious death of Ivarr and the unexpected promotion of Nurr. The maneuvers of the latter to place little by little the neighboring territories under his protection and thus under his yoke. If we don't move, bigger problems will soon be at our door. It seems to me essential to show cohesion and firmness between the other Bastions.
Azarr supports me, but he does not have the agreement of the majority of his people to take sides and possibly engage in a conflict. Members of his congregation ask me questions that I have already answered. I am losing my patience and worry that I have left Sarah for almost two hours now.
“Lokk, please go check on our guest. I feel like they can ask me the same questions over and over again for the rest of the day.”
‘Worried about your little human, it seems? So, I'll keep her company since it's so kindly requested. Also, I found her to be a very interesting interlocutor and her questions were very pertinent throughout our trip. And, as a bonus, she is very easy on the eyes, but I'm sure you've already noticed that.’’
I growl in his head and mentally tell him all my displeasure. The palaver with the men of the Southern Bastion continues and I struggle to maintain my attention on their repeatedly asked questions. I meet Azarr's bored look.
Like me, he would prefer an agreement to act before the situation with the North deteriorates too much. But he has to deal with some of the older generations of men, who are more motivated by peace in their lives than anything else.
“Nixx, she is no longer in the lobby. I'm looking for her outside.”
I no longer participate in the exchanges, leaving it to Azarr to convince his men himself. I'm only focused on one thing now, getting news about Sarah.
“Nixx, I found her. End this meeting NOW! . . . and warn Azarr. Meet me at the edge of the canyon immediately.”
The urgency in Lokk's tone freezes my blood. I stand up abruptly, interrupting an elder, in yet another argument not to move. I wave to Azarr and run out without checking if he follows me.
As I arrive outside the lobby, I see Lokk hovering over the edge of the canyon. And I hear a child crying. My goodness, no Sarah in sight, but this child crying is ominous. As I rush to Lokk's side, I see on a small ledge three meters below, a little girl in tears, in the arms of my unconscious Sarah.
“Loony, my darling!” exclaims Zull in panic. “What are you doing here?”
“Dad, you're not going to argue with me, are you? I wanted to learn to fly and Sarah, she caught me when I fell and she hurt herself badly and she's bleeding. And since then, she's been taking a big nap and she's not waking up anymore, adds Loony in a new flow of tears.”
We descended to the height of the mini-ledge where they both took refuge. Loony is too young to fly, so they fell from all that height and it's a miracle they didn't fall directly into the water twenty meters below. I observe the multiple bloodstains visible on the blue rock, indicating Sarah's progress to their current position.
All in all, it may not be just a matter of luck that they ended up here. I am horrified by his condition. Her arms and hands are bloody. And most of all she is passed out and her aura is dull. Shit!
Zull delicately recovers his daughter from Sarah's arms and I recover the human who occupies all my thoughts. We both land in front of the main access to the Complex.
Azarr has distributed orders, women arrive with clothes and basins of water. An Eriane, with light gray wings, comes running, her cheeks wet with tears and throws herself at the little girl's feet.
“Loony, you left the playroom, you disobeyed. You must not escape adult supervision,” says her mother.
“I'm sorry mom. I wanted to fly. I wanted you to be proud of me.”
‘’But I'm proud of you my darling. You’re too small to fly. If that woman hadn't caught you, we would have lost you,’’ she adds with a sob.
“You know Mom, Sarah is my friend now. She's really nice. I think she hurt her shoulder a lot when she threw me on the platform. We talked about Babako before she went to sleep. I have to introduce her to Babako before she leaves. Can you believe she's never seen a babakotia?”
I listen distractedly as a woman cleans and wipes Sarah's wounds before applying a balm to them. She has many wounds on her arms and hands. She should be put in Sarconze for immediate repair.
I hate to see her like this.
I hate that we are so far from her repair box. As I stroke her cheek, she opens her eyes slowly and stammers:
“The little . . . Loony . . . the little girl who was with me . . .”
“She's fine, you saved her! You’re both saved.”
She closes her eyes in relief.
