Chương 87: [The Rule Of Cool]

It was around 4pm, the sun was glaring through the windows of the flat as five idiots were enjoying some time to relax.

"I know exactly what you're doing," Phil said, pointing at Leo from across the room.

"Don't try to deny it." Leo had his mug in both hands.

"What are you going on about?"

"The speed. The lightning. The big fucking katana." Phil counted them off on his fingers.

"You're trying to turn yourself into the anime katana guy. The one who sheathes it and then everyone's head falls off."

"And?"

"So you admit it?"

"Yeah. Why not? It's cool as fuck. If it works, its also going to be a nightmare to deal with," Leo said.

"Don't act like you didn't also pick fire magic and swords cos they are going to look cool together."

"He's right Phil. I reckon you're jealous his build is going to look better than yours." Sam said with a smirk.

"You're not gonna tell me it's too weeby when I'm doing the whole—" he mimed a slow, deliberate sheathe, "—and they fall over all at once." Luka looked up from where he'd been turning his phone over in his hands.

"That does sound sick, to be fair." Parmo groaned, pressing his mug against his forehead.

"It does. Fuck. It does."

"There's a reason it's everywhere in anime and games, isn't there. You want fire swords because they're cool. Lightning fast swordsman because it's cool. There's nowt deep about any of it. It's just the rule of cool," Luka continued.

"Exactly," Leo said, pointing at him. The knock came before Phil could come up with an answer. Leo set his mug down and went to the door. He pulled it open, and the three of them were on the step. The lingering smell of woodsmoke followed them in as they crossed the threshold.

"Alright guys," Leo said.

"Hey," Shai said, stepping past him.

"We just finished up with Mike and the others. Wanted to give him an update before we headed back to get cleaned up and come here." They climbed the stairs and entered the front room.

"You've been at the civic centre?" Phil asked, leaning forward as Torren angled his massive frame through the door.

"Long afternoon," Rika said, already heading for the kitchen with a tired set to her wings.

"Tell me you've got tea on." Luka stood up to head to the kitchen, passing Rika.

"I'll get a fresh pot on, go sit down. You lot look like you've been through it."

"Just a long day," Rika called back, dropping onto the sofa between Sam and Parmo. She let out a heavy breath, her wings sagging as the tension left her.

"Training, the jog to the village, the meeting, then the run back to see Mike. I can barely feel my legs." The next few minutes were the usual shuffle of finding space. Torren moved toward the chair by the window, the one the lads had started leaving for him by default because it was the only one sturdy enough to hold him without creaking. He sat slowly, let out a long sigh, and closed his eyes. Shai took her spot on the other sofa.

"I'll wait til Luka's back so I'm not shouting. We've got a few things to discuss." Find this and other great novels on the author's preferred platform. Support original creators! Luka returned a few minutes later with three steaming mugs and handed them round. Rika wrapped both hands around hers immediately, practically inhaling the steam.

"Right," Shai said, straightening up.

"Before we put the film on, we have news."

"Good things or bad things?" Sam asked, setting his phone down.

"One of each," Shai said.

"We'll start with the scout report. Like I said, Mike already has the details, but we wanted you to hear it from us."

"The scouts found tracks in the lower wilds," Shai said.

"Whatever made them is bipedal and significantly larger than anything we're used to seeing this far south. It looks like it came down from the upper wilds." The room was silent. Even Phil, who usually had a comment ready, just watched her.

"They found two goblin settlements," she continued.

"Completely gone. Not attacked or raided. Both were crushed. Smaller trees were snapped or pulled up, some of the bigger ones cracked in half around Torren's height up the bark. Whatever it is, it doesn't seem to be hunting exactly. It's erratic. It loops back on its own trail and smashes through anything in its way." She paused.

"There were no goblin corpses. One of those villages is likely the group behind the incursion we dealt with near the barricade. We don't know where the other settlement went. Whatever it is, either ate them or they ran."

"So it's huge," Sam said. He wasn't looking at Shai anymore, he was looking at the coffee table, his mind clearly running through the geography they'd covered.

"And it doesn't have any sort of plan. More beast than thinking creature." Leo asked.

"How far out are the tracks?"

"Far enough that Yara isn't calling for a full mobilisation yet, but close enough that she's extended patrols all the way to the town. If it turns south with any purpose, we'll know ahead of time." Shai looked at him.

"Mike's finding someone to stay in the village until this is dealt with. Between the patrols and the UI, we'll have warning." Leo nodded but his mind was elsewhere. He was thinking about the town's perimeter, those stretches of garden fences and cars pushed across road-ends. If it was as mindless as Shai said, luring it away from the town wouldn't be impossible, but it was still a hell of a variable to have wandering around the north. He'd bring up the idea later.

Rika clapped her hands together, a sharp, bright sound.

"Right. Enough of the doom-talk. Now for the good news. You're all coming to our summer harvest festival in a few weeks." Shai rubbed her temples.

"That's not asking them, Rika." Torren smiled, a slow thing that spread across his face before the laugh followed it.

"What she means is that the elders have asked us to extend an invitation. To the five of you, and the council too, if they're up for it. Come see how we live. What we value." He looked around the circle.

"We'd like you there."

"Yeah, that sounds good to me," Leo said.

"Hundred percent," Luka added. Phil nodded.

"Yeah, obviously."

"What's the festival actually involve?" Sam asked. Rika tried her best to appear innocent.

"Oh, the usual. Food, drink, games." She paused.

"Dancing." Luka and Phil nodded and smiled. The other three looked like they'd seen a ghost.

"I'll give it a go. Having two legs that actually work is already better odds than the last time I tried," Phil said, with a laugh.

"Yeah, sounds fun," Luka agreed.

"I think I'm sick that day, sorry guys," Parmo said, his face pale.

"There's absolutely no chance I'm dancing. I'd rather run through the street naked," Sam said. Shai looked at Leo, her eyebrow raised.

"Well?"

"Oh god, I can't dance. I have two left feet. I'm usually the tallest in the room so everyone can see me looking like a tit."

"It can't be that bad," Shai said.

"Nah, it really is. It might not look as bad now that I'm in shape but still, I'm going to look like such a bellend..."

"It'll be fine, you should see Davan. There's no way you're that bad," Rika said.

"Well, I guess we're all going to find out," Leo said. The thought of the last time he'd danced surfaced uninvited. He shivered, the memory making him cringe. Rika looked around the room with great satisfaction.

"This is going to be so fun."

"Right," Phil said, standing up and stretching.

"On that note, I'm starving. We eating before we put Two Towers on?"

"I'm glad you asked. Being this size and running around all day really gets the appetite going," Torren said, hands spread wide as he looked down at himself.

"Yeah, I bet. Pub?" Leo said.

"Sounds good to me," Phil agreed. The group got up, the lads grabbing shoes while Shai, Rika and Torren moved towards the door. Leo pulled his hoodie on and turned to find Shai watching him. Her tail froze. For a second she didn't move, then she smiled at him and turned to say something to Rika. Well that was weird. Wonder what that was about. Did I say something? Do something? I was pretty normal I think. Just sitting there. Talked about dancing like an idiot maybe but that's hardly new. She was fine before that.

She was fine after that. Probably nothing. She might have not expected me to look at her and felt weird, like I'd caught her looking or something. Nah, definitely not. Shai wouldn't have any reason to act like that, that's more my thing and I'm an idiot. Whatever, let's just get some food. I'm clearly overthinking this cos it's Shai. Again. I wonder what they have on tonight, I fancy a nice pie and chips. He followed the others down the stairs and out into the late afternoon.