Nix watches his wounds wash away with Gorranach’s golden healing and, as the rain begins to soften, he notices Xīlōxōch looking into her shard. “You…did…it! How…does…it…feel? Many…powerful?!”
Nix
Xīlōxōch
Xīlōxōch was looking at her shard with pride as Nix approached. She turns to show him the proud look on her face. “It feels… splendid. Almost as good as being a dragon. It’s like the rain was speaking to me — do you think that’s what Varg felt with the wind?”
Nix
Nix remembers the voice that called out to him shortly before entering his one and only elemental trance. “Did she… speaking to you again?” A wave of longing washes over him as he misses that feeling of power — he’d never felt particularly powerful before that moment. The Bugbears wouldn’t stand a chance if all four of them could tap into that trance again. He remembers that Varg and now Xīlōxōch have been able to use their shards under the right circumstances — it’s a good start.
“I’m…thinking Varg is feeling same with wind…Many yes! Nix is…hope that Gorranach and Nix’s shards speak again soon. Then Stellarum stand…uh…Not many chance!” Nix fiddles with his shard before returning it to his pocket and lifting his gaze back to Xīlōxōch. “Xīlō…Is it…many strange that Nix can’t…use shard yet?”
Xīlōxōch
Nix mentioning the voice caught Xīlōxōch off guard, and the proud look on her face turns to concern. “Did she speak to you too? Yes — the voice we heard when fighting the dragon spoke to me again. She told me to protect you guys, and that’s what I did.” Xīlōxōch crouches to Nix’s eye level before she continues. “I don’t think it’s strange. Varg and I got lucky that there’s a storm up here. If there was a fire then maybe you could’ve used your shard.”
Nix
“Yes! She…spoke when we were fights…with dragon. Many hard to…uh…understanding but she tell me to protect…as well!” Nix notices the rain getting lighter and tries to look at Xīlōxōch’s shard in her hand. “Is she quieter now? Now that rain is…less?”
Xīlōxōch
“She’s quiet now. I don’t know how I can talk to her — it seems like it’s always her talking to us, never the other way around.” Xīlōxōch looks at the sky and notices the rain getting weaker. “Maybe we should start a fire so you can talk to her.”
Nix
“Yeah, Nix can’t remember if he could even…talk…back?” Nix fumbles with his shard and considers Xīlōxōch’s idea. It’s crazy, but… what if it works? “Maybe Xīlō is…right, but we have spent…many time here. We must move so that we get back in time. Many danger if we don’t.”
Xīlōxōch
“I don’t think any of us talked back to her — strange.” Xīlōxōch pauses to recount the dragon fight. “Yeah, we need to get going.” There is a sense of determination in her voice as she stands back up. “When I moved the rain, I could hear it sing to me. What do you think fire sounds like?”
Nix
“That’d be many nice to hear the fire’s song. Nix will be liking that many much!” Nix pockets his shard and mirrors Xīlōxōch’s urgency in moving on. “But first we must defeat this ‘Rok’Kazul’! I know that we’re many strong together but Nix can only hope we’re stronger than this Animental… For the Kelderner’s sake — do you think that they’re many safe?”
Xīlōxōch
“Right now? Yes. The Bugbears care about their honour — I don’t think they’ll do anything to the Kelderners until time’s up. And we’re not going to let them do anything.” Xīlōxōch says with confidence. “But they’re not ‘many safe’ in general. They’re too weak to hold their own, despite their potential. It might take years for them to be as strong as we are, and we’ll have to babysit them for now.”
Nix
“Nix doesn’t many mind babysit. To tell truth, Nix miss them…sl…slowing us down.” A chuckle tries its best to break through his mouth — maybe would’ve been a belly laugh if the circumstances weren’t so dire. “Do you think we can…do this, Xīlō? Bugbears many strong and they couldn’t.”
Xīlōxōch
Xīlōxōch chuckles along with Nix. “We killed a dragon, Nix — of course we can. We even have the winds and rain singing for us. The Kelderners will be shocked once we’re done.”