7 | Raid (III)

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"I'm telling you, officer, our mother is waiting for us on the other side," Cyrdel said in an impatient tone

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"I'm telling you, officer, our mother is waiting for us on the other side," Cyrdel said in an impatient tone. Nyxis didn't know who the brownie was kidding when he kept insisting they needed to fetch their "mother" from the other side and therefore wouldn't need identification.

"I'm sorry, lad," the brownie at the border scratched the back of his neck. His voice has a tinge of a thick Northern drawl. From Zalgend, then. "Identification, please."

"Excuse me, sir," Nyxis interjected, his Keijula stuttering. "But our mother is in critical agency."

"Emergency," Cyrdel supplied under his breath, correcting Nyxis's apparent misuse of a word. What did he even say in Keijula? Dear lord. Let Nyxis hope this guard wasn't keen.

He was.

"Not that fluent?" the guard jerked his chin in Nyxis's direction. Pale brown eyes bored into Cyrdel's face. What was their cover, again? Ah, sprite brothers. That way, they could pass off the green eyes.

Nyxis shook his head but his mouth blurted, "I am fluent, yes," his limited knowledge of the language was probably showing in his face. How he always has to glance at Cyrdel to make sure he was saying the right thing was enough of a giveaway.

The guard narrowed his eyes; his thin line of a mouth curled into a distasteful frown. "Don't test me, boy," he growled, which to Nyxis sounded like a fresda being grated with his drawl. The fact that the word "test" sounded a lot like "cheese" in Ylanenla distracted him.

"We, uh, really must be going," Cyrdel stepped forward in an attempt to get past the guard. "I'd hate to hold up the line."

"Whoa, there, mister!" the guard surged into Cyrdel's way, pushing the heir backward. Cyrdel tripped on his own leg and landed on his rear against the manicured roads. That elicited at least three gasps from the people waiting in line. Why were these people even attempting to cross borders at this time? It's a mystery to Nyxis.

Cyrdel grunted as Nyxis rushed to his companion's side. "Are you alright?" he asked, as he helped the brownie up.

"Don't worry about me," Cyrdel rasped in rapid Keijula which confused the lights out of Nyxis. "Do it."

That last part, Nyxis understood. He turned to face the border guard. "You dare hurt my aunt?"

"Brother," Cyrdel said weakly from the side of his mouth.

"Yes, brother," Nyxis bobbed his head left, right, up, and down. "You shall pay!"

Yes, that's a line from the famous Brownie drama, Good Guy Bye. Nyxis should watch it some time when the troupes visit for their annual performance. As soon as the words leaped out of his mouth, Nyxis pushed the guard by the shoulder in offense. The guard didn't budge and the shoulder popped back to its natural stance.

The guard wasn't happy.

"Are you asking for it, boy?" He stepped forward. "Because I am not prohibited from firing my crackle."

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