It had been difficult trying to explain where Elkay went every Sunday, so most of the time, he had just told small lies, claiming he was going for a walk or wanted to clear his head or whatever. After all, the former Rethan High General sneaking off into the silver birch forests on the Hertany-Vriskera border at the same time every weekend was rather odd behavior, and many people had too many questions. Not that Elkay was doing anything illegal, but his actions were certainly mysterious.
As Elkay entered a rather odd grove with a small stream running through it though, he wished he had told someone the truth. He was supposed to have been meeting someone here, but their normal meeting place… well, either Elkay had missed it and taken a wrong turn somewhere, or someone had gone and downed a lot of trees there, effectively destroying the small wooden hut that marked the normal meeting spot. And now that Elkay had inadvertently revealed that he had an interest in that small wooden hut, whatever had destroyed it was now on to him.
Of course, having been in a vaguely similar situation before, Elkay knew to keep on moving, to zigzag his movements and make himself appear less predictable, but he had no idea what was actually following him. He had assumed it was something big and hungry, but big, hungry creatures normally didn’t destroy sheds while looking for food. He was being stalked for a different reason.
Suddenly, in the gloom, Elkay spotted it. The flick of a long, spiked tail. An orange, spiked tail.
This was both good and bad. The good news was that Elkay knew what he was dealing with. The bad news was that he was dealing with a Banikan, a being that would best be described as a walking, horned, magical muscle tank. Worst, from the colouration, Elkay had a feeling he knew which particular muscle tank this was.
Not wanting to be considered a threat, Elkay moved to the centre of the little grove and lowered himself down. Suddenly, his supernatural instincts came in, forcing Elkay’s body to change, becoming lighter and, somehow, forcing a pair of wings to spring somewhat painfully from Elkay’s back. Clearly his primitive mind and his intelligent consciousness were having very different ideas on how to get Elkay out of this situation.
Elkay though had little time to react though. Primitive thoughts propelled Elkay upwards and into the trees, out of the reach of the massive, four meter monster which had just charged in his direction. The Banikan however stopped charging and instead stared directly up at Elkay, snarling.
“You wish to harm me!” the Banikan roared, raising its horns threateningly.
“I do not!” Elkay immediately protested. “You just charged at me!”
“You and the Ksithan hag! You threaten me!”
Clinging on to the branches of a nearby tree and not really having the energy for a fight, Elkay sighed, wondering what he could say to calm this brute down. It was now that Elkay realised where he had met this Banikan before.
“We have met before. We met in town. You were talking about your tribe.”
“My tribe. That does not exist. Somehow. I remember it. But it is gone. Gone a long time ago…” The Banikan sighed, beginning to calm down. “I do not know what is going on with… me.”
“Then…” Elkay shrugged, slowly making his way downwards. “Maybe it is worth talking about it, rather than getting all aggressive. Because from what Phovos has told me, you and I, we are Kiniseon beings. We are… different, and in a complicated way.”
The Banikan tutted, shook its head then sighed. “My name is not Ct’Irinus. It is Atteh’Kus. I do not… remember correctly.”
Finally back on firm ground, Elkay stood in front of the Banikan, holding his hand out. “Hello, Atteh’Kus. I am Elkay. And I wish to help you.”
Atteh’Kus hesitated, then took Elkay’s hand, shaking it vigorously in his massive, clawed hands. “I accept your help, Elkay. How do we get this help?”
Elkay paused, then frowned. “Well, I think we have to go and find Phovos. Because she is the only vok who truly knows what we are…”