PART II: THE DAY AFTER THAT

The camp's courtyard bell rang in the distance, signaling everyone to begin gathering for an event in an hour. It was now Secondday, the last day of the six-day holiday, and the whole Midsummer thing was finally winding down, with the last of the visitors scheduled to depart by noon. Tomorrow, it would be back to training; back to a kind of normalcy for the camp. Quite honestly, people were looking forward to it. Everyone felt mentally exhausted. It was as if they'd all been actors playing a part for six days straight now, and more than anything they needed some time when the stage was dark to just come back to reality.

Callie and Pixyl, accompanied by Lhawni and Ambria, made their way in a slow, casual walk from where they'd been playing dice to kill time in the recruit mess. Apparently, there was supposed to be some kind of good-bye ceremony or something for the Arkan, which required everyone to get into formation again. Callie suspected he would share some parting words of encouragement, and maybe praise for everyone's combat capabilities tossed in as well. It seemed like an appropriate send off from the high-ranked officer that would boost everyone's morale.

En route to the courtyard, the four of them were joined by Jasryn, who'd been informally adopted into Callie's tribe of ladies. Like them, she had been issued a backpack that morning, just to help make carrying things around easier, and it already seemed a little heavy with stuff. Books maybe? You could also tell she was still a little nervous about the joining that evening, and working hard not to let it show. But in that nervousness was excitement, too. It was almost as if she'd been handed a sense of purpose that she hadn't had before coming here, and was eager to get going.

Ambria was extra excited upon hearing that Jasryn was staying, and the Faun charged in for almost an immediate and aggressive hug, making Callie wonder if maybe the dreamers hadn't fully worn off yet. Given how grumpy and antisocial Thucax had been at the beginning, and Jesca saying it was a common Gnoll thing, it was a little surprising that Jasryn even accepted something so boisterous, let alone returned it with a smile.

"I still can't believe they are just giving me a worm," the Gnoll said as they resumed walking.

"They are?" Ambria asked. "You're a Scholar, right? Just giving it to you?"

Jasryn nodded. "Apparently one of the patrols stumbled on it a while back, and they haven't had a chance to send it back to Imor. It seems they're common enough to justify giving it to me, given the work they want me to do."

"Oooo! It's really weird and squishy and slimy when they slither into your head," Ambria said, shooting her eyes wide and making spooky fingers in the air. Then she shrugged. "Doesn't hurt, though."

Jasryn's nervousness meter seemed to go up just a little bit as Lhawni smacked Ambria on the arm. "Stop that! Don't scare her."

"Seriously," Callie said, putting her hand on Jasryn's arm to comfort her. "Just like we told you before, it's nothing to worry about. But remember that when the new skills come, you're going to get really dizzy. You get a few seconds of warning, so when you do, immediately sit down and ride it out. It'll all be over by noon."

"Okay," Jasryn confirmed.

"Eat lightly for dinner, too," Callie added, remembering her first experience dealing with the resulting vertigo.

"Who knows? M-M-Maybe you'll get to talk to your worm, like Callie does," Pixyl said.

Jasryn stopped walking, the rest doing the same after another step. "Talk to it? In your head?" she asked, staring at Callie.

"Occasionally," Callie replied. "I mean, I could be dreaming, but we've chatted a few times. He was the one that gave me the info about how they share skills with each other, which in turn kicked off your whole project. Juniper is the only other person that seems to talk to their worm, though."

Jasryn was… quite skeptical, and it clearly showed on her face. This whole thing was based around Callie supposedly having a chat with the slug in her head? What had she signed up for!

"As you can see, she's probably insane," Ambria mockingly commented, a big grin on her freckled face.

"Hey, who knows. I could be," Callie said, shrugging. "At this point, I sort of just go with whatever happens around here. This is a strange place with strange people and strange happenings."

"I'm starting to see that," the Gnoll replied warily.

"Give it a day or t-t-two," Pixyl said, waving the issue away. "You'll fit in with the rest of us just fine. We like the strange."

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

"One of us! One of us! One of us!" Callie chanted, the others joining on the third repetition.

Jasryn smiled at that, the comical welcome putting her more at ease. It had been a whirlwind couple of weeks for her, from when she volunteered to be the family's representative here, before ultimately culminating with the emotional receiving of Utora's medal at a far-off place where she knew no one. Callie and the rest just sweeping her into their social group was exactly what she needed to help move past all those emotionally burdensome responsibilities, and take some first steps forward with her own life.

The five continued to meander towards the camp's courtyard. Upon reaching their destination, they found a few people, maybe half the recruits and soldiers, had already arrived and were mostly just milling around. Things wouldn't start for a bit, and there were several small groups in the process of saying their goodbyes to each other. In the distance, the various carriages were all lined up and in the midst of being loaded with trunks or duffel-sized cloth bags, including the one belonging to the band. Another carriage, recognizable as the Arkan's, had been parked at the front of where the formation would ultimately assemble.

"Does anyone see the Arkan," Jasryn asked. "I'm supposed to find him."

Everyone looked, Ambria eventually spotting him in the shade of a tree talking with one of his people. "There he is." He was back in his travelling uniform, like on the day he arrived, and seemed to be in a friendly, almost happy mood.

About that moment, the Arkan saw them in return, and gave a 'come on over' wave directed at Jasryn. She swallowed nervously, but then took a breath and walked off. The Arkan's assistant took a step backwards, before turning and leaving to give the Arkan some privacy.

"I wonder what that's about," Callie said, more idly curious than anything.

They all mutually shrugged, before continuing on their way to join some of the other recruits in idle chit-chat until things kicked off. Then, Callie heard Jasryn calling to her. The Gnoll was now standing next to the Arkan, waving her over as well.

"I guess I'll find out," Callie added with another shrug and she followed after.

As Callie arrived, Jasryn was busy removing something from her backpack. Whatever it was got stuck for a moment, but she quickly freed it before standing straight. It was a wooden box. In fact, it looked to be the same box that Utora's medal had been presented to her in. "Here you are," she said, handing it to Pelidri.

"What's that for?" Callie asked.

"Well, since I'm staying, this needs to get back to my parents," Jasryn said.

"I happen to be returning directly to Imor," the Arkan continued. "I offered to bring it to them in person. It felt more … fitting … than if it had been simply delivered to them by someone from the logistics division."

"Aww, that's nice of you," Callie said. It really was, too. It would be so impersonal if some random person showed up to just hand it off like an Amazon package. It was another layer of the Arkan she hadn't seen before.

"Just a warning," Jasryn said. "My father was still really broken up when I left, and wasn't happy at all when he got my Network message yesterday that I was staying here rather than coming home. I don't think he'd get violent, but he is pretty bitter towards the army right now. Apologies if he's rude. Well, Gnolls tend to be anyway, but he might be more than usual."

"I believe I understand how he feels," Pelidri said. "I lost my own daughter to war long ago. That grief is a heavy burden to bear, and regrettably, will be for a long time for him. It's hard for a parent to lose their child."

"Oh no! I'm so sorry," Jasryn said, her voice going sympathetic.

"Thank you," Pelidri replied with a nod. "But, I have something I wished to talk with you about, and young Recruit Callie as well, since your new task originated with her idea."

"Okay," Callie said, a little nervous suddenly.

"The Colonel's new plan, to perhaps see if Warriors are able to receive more melded skills than usual, has a great deal of potential, young Jasryn. While I don't wish to put pressure on you, I do wish to stress the importance of your work, if it proves successful. I ask you to do all you can to be extra diligent in your notes. No detail is too small to record, or oddity worth ignoring. Keep things organized, but also don't be afraid to theorize a bit. I believe it is important to think outside of normalcy for this endeavor to find its best success. May we count on you?"

"Absolutely," Jasryn said, not saluting, but definitely stiffening, the civilian equivalent of it.

"And you, Recruit? Assigning her to the task was your idea, so I expect you to provide all your insights on how best to get started."

"Absolutely," Callie confirmed, echoing Jasryn.

"Honestly, I do believe this plan is going to work," the Arkan continued, "and if it does, everything is going to change for all of us, not just the Army. Imagine newly joined people getting together in large, communal groups for the specific purposes of exchanging their skills with each other for, perhaps, a year? Or pairing specific people up to try and create some kind of new combined melded power? That could be a future for us all, and it's starting here with the work you will be doing."

"Huh, I hadn't thought about that," Callie said. The Arkan had said previously that if it worked, a lot of things could change, but now she was starting to see what kind of potential he meant. There was still a long, long way to go to prove the theories out, but she was pretty sure they were accurate. The next natural step would be determining how to control it, especially with the limited supply of worms available. But if that could be done, then, he was right, everything changes. Maybe there was a way to actually start a breeding program to increase supplies? She'd have to talk to Morpheus about that.

"Should I return next Midsummer, I look forward to seeing your results," the Arkan added, smiling. He took a moment and bowed to Jasryn, Cillisine style. "Miss Jasryn, I wish you the best and once again, my condolences. I shall give your best to your family when I see them. Now, if I may, I'd like to speak with Recruit Callie."

Wishing him a good journey, the Gnoll scampered off, looking to rejoin Pixyl and the others and leaving Callie looking up at the white-haired Arkan.

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