Side-Story – Branches – A Mercenary – Prologue – To be an Owl

Waking up in a river was surprising… but being dragged out of it by Vim was embarrassing.

"You alive?" Vim asked me as he lowered me to the ground. I breathed in, as to respond, but ended up coughing up a lung instead.

Rolling over, I heard Vim's heavy footsteps as he stepped away. The loud river behind me wasn't anywhere near enough to mask the sounds of all the tiny little pebbles on the river bank crunching and breaking under his weight.

"Hm… Quite a fall. You're definitely your mother's son. Not sure most others would have survived such a thing," Vim said as my coughing continued. He was likely looking up the river, to the huge waterfall I'd just fallen from.

What were the odds he was here…? To save me when I needed him? It's been almost three years since I last saw him, so for it to have happened now…

No… if he was here now, that meant he'd been here for some time. Likely watching me from afar, as I fought up there.

He really was like my mother. She too would have sat back and watched me fight for my life, though I don't know who would have saved me first. Mother would have pulled me from the river too, but something told me she would have waited longer and would have been crueler about it. She'd have kicked me right now, for instance, as I spat up all the water that just nearly drowned me.

Spitting one last time, I groaned as I looked up… at Vim.

The protector looked human. Always had. But that was only on the surface. If you spent a moment to look closer, to really look, anyone would immediately see he wasn't human.

He didn't smell.

He sometimes weighed nothing, and other times was so heavy the very earth groaned in stress underneath him.

He had confidence in his eyes no one could match. Not even the greatest of warriors had eyes like he did. They were heavy. The type of heavy that made me want to look away whenever they looked my way.

Luckily for me they were focused on the waterfall nearby instead.

"Thanks Vim…" I said and groaned as I finally started breathing calmly enough to do so.

"Hm… A little reckless wasn't it? To fight so many on your own?" Vim asked as he turned to look at me.

Instinctively I looked down and away. I played it off by trying to sit up. It was hard, since I felt so weak and tired, but I got myself righted upward as I nodded.

"Yes. It was," I admitted.

He chuckled at me. "You really are like your mother. I hear you've become a mercenary?" he asked.

Didn't I look like one? Hadn't he been watching? Not only had I just been fighting for my life against a dozen men, I was adorned in armor, and I could feel I still had a few of my knives and weapons on me… though I no longer had my larger sword. It was likely at the bottom of the river, beneath that huge waterfall. Wonder if I could swim down and get it, or if I'd just drown again.

But I knew the truth of his comment. He had asked for more than one reason.

"I… I'm trying to be one, yes," I said as I finally looked back up at him. As I did, I found my eyes stopping at his neck and chin. I felt disgusted with myself, since it was such a silly fear to have.

It wasn't like I was actually scared of Vim. Not only was he the Society's Protector… he was my mother's friend. Her dearest friend. She spoke of him with almost as much love as she did my father, sometimes to the point he got jealous.

Yet it was just… well…

"Hm… Was this a job then? Who were they?" Vim asked with a gesture at the waterfall. I wonder how many of them had been left up there. Would they come down here to see if I actually died or not…? Surely not. No human could survive that fall, as Vim had said even most of we non-humans would have failed to do so. I didn't see any on the cliff up there from here, but I wasn't sure how long I'd been floating in the rive unconscious.

"I'd taken a job to guard a road nearby. I'm not sure who they were but they attacked us all… we were outnumbered and forced to flee, I drew their attention so the others could escape," I said, explaining how I got to this point.

"Well, you did that at least," Vim said.

I nodded. I had. Hopefully I'd done it well enough, and long enough, that the rest had gotten away.

Gosh I was tired. My shoulders were slumped, and I knew if I had inherited my parent's wings they'd be all sprawled out right now. I felt as if I was about to fall over and pass out.

But I couldn't. Not yet. Vim would take care of me, I'd no doubt of that, but I needed to talk to him a bit before doing so.

"You feeling okay? You got some bruises and cuts, any broken bones? That fall must have hurt," Vim asked as he stepped closer and knelt down, to study me closer.

I blinked, and held his gaze for a tiny moment before looking away. "I'm exhausted… and I hurt, but I don't think my life's in danger," I said.

"Good. Your mother would not be happy with me if I let you get hurt while under my watch," he said with a grin.

No. She wouldn't be.

"Yet she would have let me drown," I complained.

"A learning experience. She's drowned before many times and survived, so would expect you to do so as well," Vim said simply.

Drowning and surviving…? Multiple times?

I wanted to scoff at that, but didn't.

Since I knew he was telling the truth. Mother was of course… mother.

She was far stronger than me. Even without her wings.

Shifting a little, as if to prove to him I was at least a portion of my mother's strength and fortitude, I forced myself to my feet.

Vim remained kneeling a moment, staring up at me as I wobbled a little unsteadily… and then he stood and smiled at me. He reached out, grabbing my arm right before I fell over. "Careful Branches. You probably have a concussion, you can't seem to focus," he warned.

My head did hurt. And it was ringing a little. "Probably…" I admitted.

"Do you need to hurry to your comrades? Or can I set up camp to let you rest a bit?" he asked.

I gulped and shook my head. "We failed. If anyone survived they'll all be running away to wherever they go. No point looking for them," I said.

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"Such are mercenaries," he said.

Right… they had codes and honor, but only to a point.

"You did tell me to become a knight instead," I said lightly as he guided me away from the riverbank. He took me closer to the dense forest nearby, until we found a rotting stump. He let me sit upon it, and I groaned as I did. The act of sitting made me feel all the stiff joints and pain amongst them.

"Knights can be just as dishonorable. They just don't usually get in such situations where falling over a waterfall is needed," he teased me.

Right… I bet.

Vim immediately went to starting a fire. He cleared out a little section of grass and dirt, preparing it for a campfire and within moments had a large fire going. I sighed in relief at the feeling of warmth, as I realized I was soaked. My clothes, starting to dry from time and the warmth of the flames, were becoming uncomfortable.

"Thanks again, Vim," I said as I went to start undressing.

Vim said nothing as he stepped away from the fire. He went to gather up more wood, rummaging around the area as he did.

Fully undressing, I sighed at the feathers on my thighs. I didn't have many feathers, and I groaned as I plucked a broken one near my knee.

I stared at the broken feather, and the way it was bloody and askew.

Ever since leaving the nest, I'd not grown any new ones. Which meant each one I lost… was well…

Glancing down at my thighs, I felt strangely weak all of a sudden as I counted them. I had half of how many I had left home with.

"What's wrong? It shrinks when cold, don't panic," Vim teased me as he returned, putting another piece of wood onto the fire as he did.

Ignoring his comment, I lifted my tired hand to show him my broken feather. "I'm losing my feathers, Vim."

He paused at that. He put down the pile of wood he'd gathered near the fire, not into it, and stepped over to take it from me.

Vim studied it, and then me for a moment. "You don't grow new ones?" he asked.

I shook my head.

"Huh… well… hm…" Vim seemed unsure of what to say to that, and then handed me back my broken feather. I almost didn't take it.

"Is something wrong with me?" I asked worriedly.

"Likely not, Branch. You probably stopped growing them once you reached maturity. Your parents would know better and more about it though, maybe go home and talk to them about it? Want me to take you home?" he asked.

I shivered a little. "No. Not yet."

He nodded, as if he understood, then he turned and walked away again. A few moments later he returned, with a large log. He dropped it nearby, and went to sitting upon it.

"Hungry?" he asked.

"Not yet."

He nodded again.

Taking a deep breath, I sighed and glanced down at my thighs again… and particularly at the spot that was now skin.

Really. It wasn't like I had many in the first place…! Some of my other siblings had feathers all over. On their stomachs, arms and legs, and backs and stuff. I though only had them on my thighs, and mostly on the front of them.

If I lost them all… other than my larger pupils, I'd not have anything to prove I was an owl…!

The mere thought made me sick to my stomach. It hurt more than falling off that cliff and waterfall. It hurt more than failing a job, or being stabbed and hit with a club.

Why hadn't I been born with wings…? Sap had them. Sure, she wasn't even strong enough to flap them or fly, but at least she had them. Plus she had feathers all over…!

Even my lesser siblings, the ones who were stupid and wanted to live like humans, had more feathers than I did.

I sniffed, and to try and distract myself from my stupid depression I looked up at Vim. He was sitting calmly, staring at the fire between us. As if ignoring me.

I knew better though. Vim was… just… well… Vim.

He was kind. Gentle. Like a giant old tree, Vim was always quiet and collected. Even during the fiercest of storms he never flinched.

"Did mother ask you to check on me?" I asked.

"I check on everyone, Branch. That's kind of my job. But if you must know Windle is the one who asked of you on my last visit," he said.

Right. Of course it had been father.

"How are they?" I asked.

"Fine. A harsh storm came and went, breaking one of the bigger branches off the sacred tree. I helped them clean it up a bit," I said.

Wow… "Did it hit the house? Which one?" I asked. I'd heard such a thing had happened before, but in my life had never seen it myself. Of course it'd happen while I was gone.

"It landed on the other side. The one that curved oddly," he said as he waved a finger around, as if to display how it curved.

Huh… that was likely the big one that branched off into other ones, half way up the tree. That wasn't just big; it was as big as most trees were. Thicker. Good thing it hadn't landed on anything.

"Everyone's okay?" I asked.

"Yeah. Your family is well, last I knew. Your mother is all upset because of something Celine did, you know how they are, but all is well," he said.

Right… the saint. I myself had only met her a few times, since mother didn't want me associating with her.

Vim shrugged a bit as he continued. "The Society is fine. I think some wars are about to start, but as of now nothing to worry over," he said.

"Yeah… there have been a lot of jobs lately," I said. The last town I had been in, I had left it before the sun even fell. I had found a job that fast. Not normal in my experience… though I mean, I've only been a mercenary for a few years now. So not like I had a lot of experience.

"You join a band yet?" he asked.

"No. None of have invited me."

Vim frowned at that. "It'll come. You keep jumping off waterfalls and it'll happen in no time."

I smirked at that. "Sorry, Vim."

"For what?"

Unsure of why I'd apologized… I just shrugged.

Vim hummed a moment, and then reached up to scratch behind his head. I watched him as he did, and wondered if he actually itched like a normal person did… or if it was just a habit he had. "Well, I'm glad you're doing alright. You dropped your sword in the river, didn't you?" he asked.

I nodded.

"Hm… your mother would tell me not to get it. To make you suffer the consequences of your actions…" he said as he glanced to the river. With him bringing it up, it became louder in my ears.

I shifted a little. "Then… don't get it," I said, deciding.

He glanced back at me. "You sure…? That sword is valuable."

I nodded. I knew. He had made it for me. "I know. But you're right… I'll not learn otherwise, will I?"

"Eh… I'd argue you'd learn even more if you got it back. You'll now be more conscious of it, and try not to do it again, if you had it in your hand," he argued.

"I'm sure. But… you're right. Mother would tell me to leave it."

He sighed but nodded. Hopefully I'd not offended him.

"Well… alright then," Vim said with a nod, seemingly fine about my decision.

Breathing a small sigh of relief, I nodded back… and then felt bad for a different reason.

Now I'll need to buy a new sword.

Did I have enough…? I got the up-front payment for this job, but now I won't get to collect the rest of it… having failed.

Rubbing my face, I suddenly regretted trying to live up to my mother's expectations. But it was too late now.

Vim chuckled at me. "Tough isn't it?"

"Why is it, Vim? I figured it'd be hard, but this is just…"

"Because you're not human. You're an owl. But it's fine, Branch. Just take it a day at a time."

I sighed and nodded. Right.

Blinking a little, I realized I suddenly felt… exhausted. The kind that made me a little worried.

"Lay down and rest, Branch. Even your mother wouldn't complain over that," he said gently.

"But…" I didn't want to. Not only could there possibly be enemies still nearby, I was supposed to be stronger than that. I should be getting up, getting dressed once my clothes were dry, and then going back up there to get revenge. That was what mother would have done.

Vim though waved it off. "Get some sleep. You look like you're about to fall over anyway. It'll all be fine."

Hm…

I nodded, deciding to just let it be. It wasn't often I got to rely on him or anyone anymore… so maybe I should just take him up on the offer.

"One day I won't need your help anymore…" I promised as I went ahead and laid down. Luckily the ground was soft. The grass felt oddly good on my bare skin. And the nearby fire kept the chill at bay.

Vim chuckled again. "May that day be eons from now."

I pondered that, and its meaning, as I drifted off to sleep.

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