Chương 11: Trickster's Timeout

The cabin faded away as my vision blurred and I found myself in a misty glade. Moonlight flickered above and fireflies flew around me. Warm moss cushioned my paws. What in the actual hell? I squinted. My heart was hammering against my tiny ribs. Was I just kit-napped? Despite my unease, I had to give myself a pat on the back for that pun. That small pleasure faded when I saw a massive raccoon lounging on a throne. The throne was wooden and looked like it had grown from a tree.

The area around it was littered with trinkets. From what I could see, it looked like a hoarder had raided every garbage can in town. The raccoon's fur was scarred and silvered with age. He was munching a berry that shifted colors every few seconds. It took me a second to put everything together.

"Azeban?"

"Maybe your brain isn't as small as everyone else thinks," the raccoon muttered as he shook his head. He was definitely giving off those disappointed dad vibes. What? Someone's dissing me? My whiskers twitched. My fur prickled as if the air itself started to get charged with my annoyance. This disappeared the moment he tossed me a berry. Instinctively, I opened my mouth so that it hit my tongue. Why I trusted him, I had no idea. Fudge me. I'm not a freaking dog. And why would anyone sane trust a trickster god?

I wondered. Still, it didn't kill me. The taste certainly surprised me and washed away any resentment. The berry tasted an awful lot like a marshmallow but so much sweeter. Then it changed into unripe persimmons. Pure sour regret. Finally, it switched to something like a combination of garlic and onions. I gagged and almost spit it out.

"What's with the mood-swing fruit?" I asked after swallowing the… whatever it had been. Azeban chuckled. He stretched like a cranky forest uncle who'd seen too many winters and conned his way through them all.

"Just a welcoming gift for you, Mouth-With-Legs. Stories are already starting to spread about you. I hope you enjoy the worship; I never did." I didn't know what to say about that, so I just stood there in uncomfortable silence before blurting out, "So, what are they saying?" While I was waiting for a response, I had to resist the temptation to start wiping my tongue with my paws. My tongue seemed to be experiencing some strange sensations. These sensations were also spreading down my throat and into my belly.

"That you're my heir, which is sort of true, I suppose, in a way," Azeban said as he finished off the berry. Azeban licked his paw as if he was still savouring the memory of the berry's taste. Then his tongue darted out to clean the edges of his muzzle. After that, he sniffed the air before scanning the mossy glade as if expecting the forest to offer him seconds. It didn't. I stood there, feeling funny, for multiple reasons. I'm his heir? And what the fudge did he feed me? I wondered.

My body was starting to feel warm. Azeban glanced at me and gave me a grin which sent a shiver down my spine, despite the warmth that had reached my tail. That was when I noticed that both of our tails were twitching and flicking in sync.

"No throne lasts forever," he muttered, almost to himself, eyes sharp again.

"Better teach you how to walk like a god who's still got pockets to pick."

"Wait, what? A god?" I thought I'd been dealing with everything that had happened to me extremely well, but apparently, I was starting to reach my limit. Sighing, Azeban leveraged himself out of his throne. That was when I noticed that he had something of a beer belly. While I was taking in this fact, he walked up to me and thumped me on the head.

"Listen Rocks-For-Brains, I said, 'like a god.' I didn't say you were a god." After that, he waddled back to his wooden tree throne. After kicking away some clutter, he plopped back down on his throne before continuing.

"Now then, you don't need to know the reasons why or how, just be aware that I've chosen you as my heir." Azeban then looked up at the starry night as if seeking an answer as to why he would have done such a stupid thing. Finally, when the night sky didn't answer him, he continued, "You now have a fraction of my power. Use it wisely." I nodded, not wanting to piss off this… not a god but something else. That 'use it wisely' definitely sounded like a threat and a warning at the same time.

"Of course, with great power comes great responsibility," I said. After which, I immediately wanted to dig a hole to hide in. I quickly tried to change the subject.

"So, what would you suggest I do with my power? Trick people?" Azeban snorted as he leaned forward.

"No. That's not your job. Trickster is just one of your titles. Tricking people is easy. They do most of the work themselves." After a few seconds of silence, he then continued, "As for what you will do with your power, that is up to you. Nanabozho and I made many mistakes." He then chuckled self-depreciatingly, as if amused by the memory of something he had done. He smiled at me and continued, "However, the mistakes we made taught others.

I was a beloved rogue, a spirit of laughter and cleverness who reminded people not to take life too seriously. That was my role." Azeban leaned over and picked up another berry from the mess around his throne. He threw it to me just like he did the first one. This time I resisted the impulse to catch it with my mouth. Instead, I snatched it out of the air and plopped it into my mouth.

Azeban huffed, but continued, "Nanabozho is a revered guide, a teacher whose stories are passed down to help people live with integrity and balance. That was his role. He taught through mistakes. I taught through pranks." He paused for a moment to roll his eyes before speaking, "As for the others, they forged their own roles. They're overachievers, overthinkers, or overcompensators who chase power. I, on the other hand, chase berries and belly laughs."

With that, he gave a big belly laugh which caused his big belly to jiggle like Santa Claus. He wiped away a tear that formed on one of his eyes and continued, "As will you, what you become depends entirely upon yourself." His words resonated in my mind. Who are the others he is speaking of? Loki? Raven? Coyote? Anansi? For that matter, who in the hell is Nanabozho? Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more. I was finding it difficult to think.

Part of this was because I was starting to feel a little drunk after eating the second berry. Yep, definitely the berry, I thought as another wash of warmth started spreading throughout my body, much faster this time. It was hard to focus on Azeban's next words.

"We might be called tricksters, but we serve a purpose. I'll steal the words of Coyote who once told me something while trying to sound profound, 'The greatest trick is not hiding the truth, but letting them convince themselves it's a lie. Most people would rather believe a pretty lie instead of a harsh truth.'" For some reason, that resonated with me. I'd fallen for one woman's pretty lies. I'd wanted to believe her so badly. When I discovered the truth in the end, I was devastated.

Shaking my head, I concentrated on what he was saying next.

"Words, and even silence, are magic, kid. A word, whether truth or a lie, or even withholding a word, can shape fate better than any spell. You need to decide what type of trickster you will become." I shook my head to clear my thoughts. I had no idea what type of trickster I wanted to become. Why do I even have to be a trickster? I wondered. To distract myself, I blurted out one of the top questions on my mind, "Are you the shadow that said we would meet soon?"

Azeban stared at me, his eyes squinting as if he was looking for the answer inside my eyes. It was a little unsettling. Finally, he said, "It's not me, runt. Something bigger than myself must be responsible since I can't…" He paused, cutting off whatever he was going to say before continuing, "Anyway, tricksters don't lurk. We swagger." My fur prickled, and before I could ask more, reality tore open like a cheap curtain. Dust and desert sky swirled in a sandstorm as a thin coyote stepped through.

"For once, you got something right," Coyote said. If mischievous was a good word to describe Azeban, cocky would be the word I'd choose for Coyote. He oozed self-confidence. He strutted forward like existence owed him a favor. Coyote had a wide grin that made me want to smack him. He gave off the vibe of a rich kid who knew he could use money to solve all his problems.

Azeban, on the other hand, seemed more like someone who liked to poke at the edges of order to get a chuckle, Coyote bulldozed through it, convinced the punchline was worth the wreckage. When he turned to look at me, I almost pissed myself. His eyes scanned me like I was a puzzle he didn't trust. Or one he wanted to break. Azeban tossed a berry at me that sparked mid-air and fizzled out to get my attention while distracting Coyote.

"Mind your own chaos, star-namer," he growled. Coyote ignored Azeban and circled me. His tail flicked like a whip.

"He smells like chaos pie, half-baked and dropped on the floor," he finally said. His voice dripped with amusement.

"This runt's not just yours, Azeban. We all stirred the pot in order to prepare the mana tide." Coyote smiled to himself as he grandstanded.

"I named the stars, broke death, and changed worlds. This little guy is one of my seeds of disruption too. He's not just your heir. It required all of us to make him." Coyote's words hung in the air. Fudge me with a spoon. So, all the tricksters helped make me? Why? I was completely lost. And the mana tide is because of them? Azeban snorted, tail twitching.

"Of course you'd overinflate things. You always did love drama and oversized quests." Coyote blinked slowly, then flicked his ears.

"Says the one feeding chaos berries like breath mints. Don't play humble now, trash king. One more and…" I glanced between them, my head spinning from more than just the berry hangover. A part of me wanted to bolt, preferably somewhere with fewer ancient spirits, but my paws wouldn't budge. Azeban sighed and waved a paw toward the glade.

"This is what you are, runt. A collective gamble, born of jokes, regrets, and cosmic spite. Tricksters don't make heirs lightly. We make catalysts." Coyote chuckled.

"And disasters. Don't forget those." He then looked at me and smiled, as if I was a movie he had been waiting to come out all summer.

"He's going to be louder, messier, and harder to leash than any of us." My heart skipped.

"What does that even mean?" I asked, my squeaky voice wobbling a little. Coyote's eyes glinted.

"It means you're trouble, runt. The kind that might outshine us all, or crash and burn spectacularly." Then he started laughing and he bent down to rummage through the junk around the tree throne. I felt like a child standing between two divorced chaos gods fighting over my custody. I opened my mouth to complain when I abruptly started choking on another berry that Coyote had just picked up and thrown down my throat. Tears formed on the sides of my eyes as I choked.

I managed to mutter, "Nice throw asshole," before my insides started doing flips and I felt like I was burning up inside. Coyote just took one look at me and started laughing, ignoring Azeban who said, "I wasn't planning on giving him another one yet, you desert diva." Azeban then looked at me with some concern, as if I was about to burst into flames. I started panting like a dog left in a hot car. My paws started to sweat. I thought I was about to die, again. That was when a new notification appeared.

CHAOS BERRIES CONSUMED. Select an Available Evolutionary Option. Echoes of Chaos: Unpredictable power follows your actions. Mask of Many Paws: Shift your form to confuse, mislead, or disappear. Shadow Thief: Steal light, secrets, or memories from a target. Tongue of Trickery: Speak in ways that bend truth and perception. Trickster's Blessing: Gain insight into a problem by acting foolishly or breaking norms. MESSAGE FROM GAIA. So MANY choices.

I was starting to zone out from the pain, which made concentrating on the choices more difficult. Still, I tried my best to ignore the pain since I didn't want to make a mistake. It was at that point that I heard a couple of new voices arrive and start quarreling with Azeban and Coyote like relatives at a Thanksgiving dinner party. I couldn't quite make out who they were, but they definitely didn't seem happy. Then the voices faded away and I found myself in a chair. I jolted awake on the recliner.

My head was pounding from Tala's acorn and from the chaos inside me. Tala was perched over me. Her tail twitched. Her mental voice was sharp with jealousy. Dreaming of gods while I'm stuck babysitting? Rude, kit. I gasped and rubbed my bruise.

"I just got caught between two possessive gods fighting for custody. Give me a break," I muttered. Fortunately, I was starting to get used to the pain. I was a little worried that it would flare up the moment I made my decision though. Tala chittered. Her mental voice dripped with sarcasm. Great. You're a godly heartthrob now. Learn anything useful? You were out long enough. I groaned as I wondered how long I had been out. Yeah, that I should beware of whatever we sensed earlier. Apparently, it's powerful.

I thought about telling her about me not just being Azeban's heir, but also Coyote's and a few other tricksters, but I didn't. No shit Sherlock, Tala mentally muttered. What an idiot. How does she know who Sherlock is? I wondered. While part of me wanted to know how she knew that phrase, I was more annoyed than curious. She clearly meant for me to hear that. As for the trickster gods, I was more than just annoyed. Trickster gods are obnoxious. Do the trickster gods want to mess with me?

Am I the butt of some galactic joke? Still, at least I got something out of it. I just needed to decide what type of trickster I am going to be. I had to wonder, Is that why I was offered a chance to speak as one of my first changes? Because it's impossible to trick people if I can't communicate with them? Were the rest of the options there to test me? Whatever the case was, my quiet prepper life was toast.

With a flirty Norse squirrel, a druid crush, and a cosmic stalker, I was either the next big thing, or the next big mess. I also definitely needed to think about my options before I made a decision. I grabbed the last remaining grape and muttered, "What is the world coming to?" Tala's voice purred, Could be worse, kit. But, hey, at least you've got me. Her tail brushed my paw. I yanked it back. Yeah, that's the problem.