En’mat nodded and turned around as well. Crackle got into position and the mirror lit up the spikes that had the eggs within them a soft blue in its reflection. En’mat let out a soft and gentle note. One that felt as if it merely floated around the chaos like a butterfly on a battlefield. Enoki, not knowing what else to do, attempted to match the note. It came out surprisingly easily as En’mat squeezed hir hand. 

Crackle looked past them and in the mirror. Another tentacle threatening to come down. Enoki held the note, refusing to waiver as Daikon showed up in the reflection, a wild look in his eyes. His laughter threw the orange threads from before onto the attacking loctor and threw down the gathered lighting from above. 

“Careful, new friend! We don’t want boiled loctor tonight.” Crackle’s voice boomed as she glanced at Diakon.

Daikon let out an annoyed tsk, barely heard over the chaos. “I can’t keep up with what the plan is.”

Despite his annoyance, Enoki would see the smirk letting his tusks peek out. The blue orc began laughing again, preparing another spell. Enoki wanted to reach out a lend him strength too. In the reflection of the mirror, ze could see how small En’mat’s blue flames were compared to Diakon’s orange crackling energy that wrapped around him like living barbed wire. 

Ze looked up at En’mat who was trying to draw out the energy from her own body. Even without the mirror, small fluctuations in her glamor were showing up. Cracks that revealed the hidden horrors of the elven form. The strain was getting to her. Enoki was having trouble figuring out how to give the energy even by holding the note. Ze could feel the transfer but it felt like a trickle.

I believe in us.

The thought hit Enoki hard in hir mind as the ship took another hit. It was deep and firm, like Diakon’s spoken word. Before ze could process it another thought could be felt down to hir bones.

Your plan better work, for Crack’s sake. The thought, despite its threat, had a pleading tone to it. The salty gravel of Kraken’s voice had come through.

Enoki looked Crackle in her eyes, the square pupils shining with trust. She said we are a flock. We can accomplish what the gods will not.

Looking back to the reflection, Enoki could now see the feather markings had once again appeared and were glowing on hirself, Diakon, and En’mat. Ze could only imagine they were on Crackle and Kraken as well. The mark was how they heard each others thoughts before as they fell. Maybe it was a special magic?

Enoki took a deep breath. Once hir lungs felt they’d explode from the air inside, ze out a louder and stronger note. For a moment, everything slowed down. The water droplets hung in the air. The loctor’s claw was slowly flying back, being repelled from the last of the shield. The shield itself was slowly crumbling away like old worn plaster. Even the shouting orders from the crew were distorted and warped beyond understanding. 

In hir mind, there was a soft clicking. The old gas burner from back home.

Click.

En’mat’s glamor completely fell.

Click. 

The mirror threatened to crack and warp from the sight of the twisted vines and tentacles that made up En’mat’s body and glowing pupils.

Click.

Enoki squeezed En’mat’s hand, seeing the elf’s resolve strengthen with the purposeful touch.

Phoom! The burner ignited in Enoki’s mind. At the same time, ze felt a burning energy cover hir own body from the joint notes they were still somehow holding and spread over to En’mat. In an instant the fire infiltrated every gap and twist of the vines that made up En’mat’s body. The flame cloak appeared behind her as a cape of feathers and flowers. Despite the fire, Enoki swore that the scent coming off of it was lemon and honey, rather than the deep smell of incense that came off the holy flames in the past. 

The note En’mat was holding became much higher. The mirror went dark from soot the flames shot off of them and to the salt spikes on and around the ship. It turned many of the soft pink crystals into a beautiful turquoise blue. As the flame left En’mat’s body, her glamor was restored. Time began to move again. The orders made sense.

Crackle was the one shouting them to the captain. “Use the cleaning runes now! All the blue ones are their nests!”

“Burning ice… You heard her! Activate the cleaners! Shuck them off now!” The captain cried out. 

Enoki smiled as ze stopped the note. Everything was marked. Everything was fine now. As the bright green glow of the runes covered the ship, a sound of crunching salt could be heard. It was the last thing Enoki could sort out as ze fell over, the world around hir going dark as hir friends cried out.

***

When Enoki woke up, the scent of lemon and honey was gone, replaced with a strong scent of water and over-boiled fish. The warm mushy feeling on hir lips only made Enoki more aware of this less than pleasant odor.

“Ze isn’t even awake yet.” Daikon grumbled.

Enoki felt a scaled hand force hir mouth open and shove the fishy and overly bitter mush into hir mouth. “Which means ze’ll complain less about the magic tack mixed into the soup. I bet ze can’t even taste it.”

Enoki opened hir eyes and fought the urge to spit it out. This was worse than when hir mom would sneak medicine when ze was sick. Ze forced it down with a hard swallow and moved hir arms to push hir body up. It felt heavy as a Christmas fruitcake. Hir arms felt like two toothpicks trying to hold it up. Kraken firmly pushed Enoki back down with their free hand.

“Hey. Fearless leader. You need rest. You poured everything out into En’mat.” 

“En’mat?” Enoki spoke, the words coming out like sandpaper. What ze really wanted was some water. Well. Really ze wanted a coffee with vanilla creamer. But that wasn’t an option right now. “Is she…?“

Daikon slid between Kraken and Enoki, gently brushing some hair out of hir face. “She’s fine, my firestorm of hope. You drained yourself to prevent her own drain and restore what she had lost in the fight.” There was a tinge of worry in his voice. “Right now you aren’t even doing your very slight shifts. The sublet adjustments you make moment to moment showing your mood and thoughts.”

With a slow blink, Enoki looked around, processing those around hir and their expressions. A mixture of worry and relief was in very face. With no small amount of pride in Crackle’s expression. 

“Can I at least feed myself?” Enoki struggled to make hir noodle arms lift the now far too heavy frame that was hir body. 

With a small breeze, En’mat was by Enoki’s side and got hir into a sitting position. “How about I feed you? I took your strength so it’s only fair I use it to help you.”

Enoki looked En’mat in the eye, seeing a soft copper tone to them now. Flecks of gold, ruby, and silver swirled in the iris like a marble painting. A remnant of the shared magic perhaps? Ze wanted to ask but it probably wasn’t the time. Especially not after that little rule Enoki was told about commenting on such things with elves. 

“Hey, at least you get a break from me being crazy.” Before Enoki could chuckle, En’mat shoved a large spoonful of the fish mush into hir mouth. Enoki wanted to gag but held back.

“No it’s just contained to one room.” En’mat rolled her eyes. “You will never stop the crazy ideas.”

Daikon laughed. “Ze wouldn’t be ours if ze did.”

“I certainly don’t claim hir.” Kraken said with a snort, their tail flicking about. “But if you have hir then I’ll deal with my chaos maker.”

Kraken walked out, lightly grabbing Crackle's horn as they headed out of the quarters. Enoki could only assume they were heading upstairs from the sound of Crackle’s clicking hooves. Enoki watched the entrance, half wondering if they were coming back as another fishy and bitter spoonful was forced into hir mouth. 

Daikon gave a sad and understanding glance before sitting at the foot of the bed. “Don’t mind them. Kraken was worried about you too once they realized what happened. And Crackle saved the mirror.”

Enoki quickly swallowed the bite, dodging the next one as ze spoke. “And the eggs?”

“All marked. We gave a very big blast and now everyone has a better idea where not to sail. No one had realized the eggs were buried in the salt. The rains most likely release them.” En’mat grabbed Enoki’s face and put the next spoonful in front of hir. “Now eat properly.”

“Guess there will be some interesting studies soon.” Enoki opened hir mouth, willingly taking the bite this time. Ze noticed a tiny bit of sweet in this one. 

Daikon nodded. “The Orcs and Dragonkin will want to look for certain. If there is a chance for domesticating beasts like that? It would help make many waters safer.”

“Only an orc would want to make those a pet.”

“But.” Enoki started around the bite of food before cooking it down. “If not friend, why friend shaped?”

En’mat let out a heavy sigh. “Great Cycle, give me strength with my companion. Obviously hir mind was damaged before taking on this great task.”