Free The Auric Insignia by Perry Horste Page A

body, at the same time as he felt his organs pressing on one another inside his body. Feeling like he couldn’t take anymore, every sense growing more intense, they finally culminated in a sensory crescendo before they, in the blink of an eye, subsided.
         - Whoa.....
         - Quite the experience, isn’t it?
         - That’s the understatement of the year.
         - But like I said, it’s good for more than jokes, even though thats is just a lucky side effect, as far as we are concerned.
         Ippan slapped Roarke on the shoulder in his amusement, to which Roarke instinctively reacted by wincing, bracing for the coming pain but feeling nothing. Looking down, he saw that the purple cloud that had floated on the right sight of his diaphragm, had begun to fade.
         - Granted, it won’t bring you back to life if, let’s say, you have a large hole straight through the ol’ thinker, but otherwise it will help with the healing process.
         - Amazing...
         Roarke had seen a lot in recent times that existed outside what he considered the norm, but this seemed like magic. He could see his skin return to its normal hue, and the pain that had earlier attacked him upon touch, was gone. Feeling better than he had in a long time, Roarke took a couple of deep breaths, grateful that they came unhindered.
     
    ***
     
     

Idiots....
     
    - Oh!...And flea jokes! Cliché some say, nothing wrong with a classic once in a while, we say.
         - Ahaha, I’ll have to try those, providing he will let me live long enough to finish.
         - Well Ama is a bit of a grump we agree, but he wasn’t always like that.....
         The three of them were sitting on soft mounds of moss that grew some distance from the pool where they had first met. Roarke stopped mid laugh as the mood took on a more somber note.
         - Vaya said something about that, “he has his reasons” I believe it was.
         - Well.
         Roarke could see that Marel, who, so far had let his mouth run like water, now weighed his words before voicing them.
         - Before, he was already the protector he is today, but that was just one of the things that was Ama. He wasn’t as funny as Ippan and me, but who is? At least he smiled, you know? You don’t see that these days, these days he is duty incarnate, his other sides, not so much gone as lacking in that spark that fuels them, happiness.
         - So.., So what happened?
         The two Kappas looked at each other, like they were deciding what to say, and how to say it.
         - If you don’t want to say, that’s fine.
         - No it’s just, it’s fine. He was abandoned, I think is the best term for it. All Kappas are like family but some are more like distant cousins and some are more like brothers. A long time ago, Ama lost the one that stood him nearest, they were almost like parts of a whole and so when one part got ripped away, the one remaining got all these torn edges. That part, the part of a whole with the jagged edges, is the Ama we see today, and the one who attacked you before.
         Seeing that the subject made his two new acquaintances uncomfortable, Roarke didn’t push the topic any further. As they sat in silence, Roarke contemplated on the fact that had become a rule as of late, that answers didn’t really clarify issues, but rather spawned two more questions where earlier there had only been one. Marel, being used to speak for two, grew far more awkward compared with his normally mute companion, who felt more in his element. Seeing his fellow Kappa filling with unease, Ippan lay a spiked hand on Marel’s shoulder as to steady his ever moving mind. A smile spread over Marel’s face and he took the giant hand in his, giving it a kiss.
         - What would I do without you, my big scary, spiky, sweet, sweet Ippan.
         The look on Ippan’s face echoed Marel’s spoken affection, their grip on each other squeezing