Terato

5

"So how's your week been, Caroline? Too much for you?" Ethan asked, sounding almost smug. "You have been spending a lot of time trying to get away from us.
"I'm not trying to get away from you. I just need my time and space." I jabbed my fork in his direction, at the same time slipping a sliver of beef into my pocket for the ever growing Diablo. "You just don't understand that, since you're so occupied with being a pain in the neck to everyone that you don't know how to sit back and shut up."
"That's enough, Ethan," Mr. Murphy warned.
"Why am I always getting blamed? She's the one who insults me!"
"How is this my fault? I wouldn't have to say anything if you weren't such a shi-"
Jake banged his head on the table. Mr. Murphy sighed, then stood up. "I'm going out. Call me if you need me."
"Wait, Dad! You can't just leave me here! I can't referee this on my own!" Jake cried, shooting up in alarm.
"Well, you're gonna have to. There's a meeting in about an hour and I've gotta be there. Apparently Ace has been seen again nearby. Would you rather deal with these two or her?"
"Uh..."
"Bye, kids. Don't kill each other." And with that, he left us alone at the table.
"So what now?" said Ethan after an awkward silence. "Continue the battle?"
"No!" Jake said quickly. "No attacking each other. That includes verbally."
"Aw..."
"Actually, I have something that hopefully won't provoke an attack," I said with a pointed glare at Ethan. "Who's Ace?"
The mood at the table changed so quickly I almost wished I hadn't asked.
As I had expected, it was Jake who answered, but his tone was something I'd never heard from him before. "Ace is one of the most dangerous Monster Riders there is. She has a hydra, and it's stronger than many. They're one of the most ruthless and deadly pairs you can find, even surpassing the Rider king and queen."
"The Riders have a king and queen?"
"Yeah. There's a princess too, but none of us know exactly who she is."
"I think it's Ace," Ethan butted in. "She's about as tough as the monarchs, and there's quite a history of hydras in the royals. She's also the only Rider I hate more than them."
They went quiet for a moment, and I took the opportunity to ask, "Why do you hate her so much?"
I couldn't see them, but I felt both of their piercing glares. Neither of them responded, and I had the sense not to ask again.
"I'm going outside," I announced after a long and awkward silence. Nobody moved to stop me.
I stopped by my room to stick mouse-Diablo in my pocket, where he promptly devoured the bits of food I had saved. I was about to leave the house when Jake stopped me.
"You might want to take this," he said, putting a small dagger in my hand. "If Ace is anywhere near, you should have some way of defending yourself. I can't stress enough how dangerous she is. Stay safe."
I thanked him and left. The moment the door closed and I made my way to the edge of the woods, Diablo climbed to my shoulder and shifted to his real form. The sudden weight was heavy enough that I almost fell. "Hey, you're getting too big to do that, buddy. Dang, how much have you grown in a week?"
I plucked him off my shoulder and held him. He growled and squirmed indignantly, but he had definitely grown to the size of a border collie. He wiggled out of my hands and darted away, taking to the air and snatching a squirrel out of a tree before returning to my side to eat it. It was gone in seconds, and he flew off to catch another one. Something squealed before becoming the Jersey devil's next snack. I heard a small burp, and couldn't help but laugh. After a few minutes of walking and letting Diablo hunt, he finally returned to my side and nuzzled my leg. I leaned down to pat him. "You wanna talk today?" He hadn't spoken much since that first day, other than to tell me that he was hungry. "Do you even know words other than I'm hungry and need food?"
He made a sound like a gasp and bounced around me in a circle. Word? Words! Need words! Need to know words!
My brow furrowed in confusion. "Need words? You... need words?"
Need words! Need words to talk! Need to know words! You talk, I know words!
"You... What?"
You talk, I know words.
"Wait..." I thought for a moment. Was he learning words as I said them? It made sense. He only said words that I had said to him before. "Do you learn words as I say them to you? Is that what you mean?"
That is what I mean! I learn words as you say them!
"Oh. Okay..." I didn't quite know what to say to that. A very unhelpful reaction considering what I couldn't think of words about. 
I come to food with you? Diablo asked hopefully. I guessed he meant he could learn from the conversations at dinner.
"Yeah, sure," I responded with a small smile. For the first real time since I had gotten here, I was happy. The little creature changed back into a mouse, climbed my shirt to sniff my burn wound while it was exposed by my unusual lack of jacket, and crawled down my shirt to nestle in my chest.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A figure shuffled in the gaping hollow of a large tree, which suddenly glimmered and rocked much like trees didn't in the fading light. As the tan skinned dark haired girl (whom the figure instantly recognized from the pictures that felt like they had been burned into her brain) walked away with her Jersey Devil safely out of sight, the tree changed shape into a magnificent red and silver hydra, whose five heads hissed quietly at the girl's departing back.
"So, whaddya think, Viisi? Kill or capture? Either one will do." The figure didn't bother with telepathic speak right now. The girl obviously wasn't paying attention to anything but that Jersey Devil. "Take a vote, maybe? Via, opinion?"
I say we capture her. I don't feel like dealing with blood right now.
"Ido?"
Kill. I don't feel like dealing with capturing right now.
"Ira?"
It depends on when we strike. If we attack soon while the devil is young and weak, we can capture the fledgling easily. If we wait and he grows, we'll have more trouble and killing will be easier.
"Okay, first of all stop calling new ones 'fledglings', second of all, Sio?"
Well, first of all, stop calling me 'second of all' after Ira says something that sounds smart, second of all, capture. I don't want to kill someone so young.
"Me and her are almost the same age."
The little guy isn't even close to my age. I don't care about her, I just don't want to kill my idea of a kid.
"Okay... Isom?"
Kill. Easier to deal with than transport. I would have to carry them and they would struggle. With killing I just have to carry you and a corpse.
"I see. Alright, it seems we're divided on the issue."
What about your opinion?
The figure hesitated. "Well, we still have, you know, the obvious problem we're trying to solve. I don't care. We just need her incapacitated, then go back, find out once and for all if they were lying, do some epic crap in between and watch an empire that's stood against us for years crumble to dust. Easy peasy lemon squeezy." She snapped her fingers and looked up at the hydra. "You with me, Viisi?"
All of me is never with you. But I'm with you on this. Caroline will be caught, whatever it takes. And soon, Ace, we will succeed.