[rework] Minglings - chapter 28: In the nick of time

Jake's heart skipped a beat at the idea of Mason fighting a horde of Goblins all alone. Then his mind went into overdrive. He glanced at Bolyr, who nodded. "Go!"

Jake had no time to be surprised that Bolyr had guessed what he wanted. "Climb over here, get on my back, and show me where they are!" he ordered as he climbed to a branch wide enough to lift off from.

The Kobold didn't hesitate for a second. She darted toward him, using her claws to cling to the tree like a squirrel. Her form whirled through the trees and across the branches with every bit of finesse that Bolyr had shown. When she reached him, he saw her hesitate, eyes widening as she looked at his claws. They were the length of her face. He was about to tell her not to worry when she shook her head and awkwardly climbed on his back.

"Melissa!" she said while grabbing his frills so tight he groaned. She let go instantly, but Jake knew he'd have bruises there.

"You can hold on, but be a bit more careful," he said as he pushed off.

Melissa was far lighter than Bolyr, and with a single flap, he shot into the air like a rocket. Remembering the direction she had come from, he began flying.

"A bit to the left, yes, like this!" Melissa corrected him.

Jake snaked a look between his legs at Bolyr, who was staring up at him. "Follow us as fast as you can!"

A short nod and a shouted affirmation were all he needed. He turned forward and sped up, feeling his stomach rumble in protest.

If I don't eat soon, I might fall out of the sky soon, he thought as he followed Melissa's directions. Still, he knew he had enough left for now. He'd had worse hunger pangs over the last week.

A dull, muffled screaming and howling came from a few hundred feet forward, and he tried to eke out more speed. He barely noticed that Melissa had started squeezing his frills again, but the pain was distant and dull. All he could do was listen to the sounds of fighting and hope Mason would be alright.

As they reached right above the battle, he looked down and growled. It was impossible to see anything, with the thick purple canopy blocking everything and muffling the sounds.

"We need to land in a tree and climb down!" he half-shouted, trying to keep his voice as low as possible so as not to alert those below.

He got a pat on the side in response and began descending to the leaves. Where the hell are the branches? he thought, eyes peeled for a place to land. His hind paws touch the first leaves. A louder roar came from below, and he couldn't help and wonder if it had been Mason.

Worry growing more and more, he lowered himself until his wings were beating the leaves, and he finally felt something solid with his right paw. Clutching onto it, he folded his wings, causing him to pivot forward. As he fell, he flailed with his front limbs for something to grab hold of. There was nothing but an ocean of leaves all around him, rustling against his scales.

Shiiiiit, he thought. Then his only hold kept him from tumbling down, and he hung from one hind limb, looking down through the jungle. The sounds of battle and fighting were less muted now.

"I can't hold on! Hurry!" Melissa whispered, panicky.

"Brother, over there! A large branch!"

Melissa let out a startled hiss at Tir's soft voice, but Jake had no time to explain. He followed Tir's directions and saw a thick branch a dozen feet down. So far down! he thought, knowing he couldn't just jump there. Looking around, he found no other option. There was barely any space for his wings.

"Hold on tight!" he hissed, forcing the leaves apart with his wings and letting go, angling towards the branch. Small twigs and leaves scraped across the thin membranes, and his heart began thumping in his throat.

For a precarious moment, he didn't think he'd reach it; then there was bark under his nails. He slammed against the side of the tree folding his nails and clutching in a single motion.

"Everyone alright?"

He got two small yips from the lizards and a soft curse from Melissa.

"Next time, give someone time to hold on tight before you jump instead of just jumping!" she hissed, and he felt her shiver.

"Sorry. Climb off and follow me. We need to find the others!"

Jake heard the fear in his own voice, but couldn't stop it. As soon as Melissa's weight was gone, he climbed across the branch to the side of the tree. Without waiting, he went straight down, head first. "Follow me, but make sure you stay out of sight!"

"For fu... Sure!" Melissa whispered. She scrambled to catch up, but Jake's slender, nimble form disappeared down the tree faster than any Kobold could hope to climb.

"Tir, Ter. When we get down, if there is a fight, stay in the trees and wait. If, for some reason, something terrible happens, you need to stay together and help each other and become big and strong!" Jake whispered. Half his attention was on the constant screaming from below. Though getting here had probably taken under a minute, it felt much longer.

"Brother! Let us come. We can help!" Tir shot back, but Jake shook his head. "No! I can't fight at my best if I have to look out for you. Hide, and only come closer when you see that we are winning. If I have to flee, try and get close enough to jump on my back!"

Below, the sounds of battle were moving around the jungle. The battle had split up into several fights. All of a sudden, he broke through the crowns of the enormous trees, and he could see to the ground through less dense leaves.

Surrounding a tree, separated by bushes, were five Kobolds, back against the bark, wrestling with over two dozen Goblins. A few unmoving Goblins were littered around the bushes, blood stinking up the air.

A shock ran through him as he recognized Mason, arms held by three Goblins and another sitting on his chest, hitting him in the face. Anger rippled through him so fast that it drowned out anything else, and a roar exploded from his maw.

"MASON!"

The sound was like thunder, silencing all others as the fights froze. The Goblins had looks of sudden fear as they scanned around for the source of the voice.

Jake barely noticed or cared how many Goblins there were. He jumped off the tree, rage clouding his mind as the tiny remainder of the other part of his mind and soul seemed to take over. With a snap, his wings spread, and like a rocket, he shot toward his friend.

Ahead, the Goblin, still unable to locate him, turned back to Mason's bleeding and struggling shape, raising his hand. Before he could do anything, a blue and silver blur rammed him off Mason's chest.

How dare he hurt kin! Rend, tear apart, kill!

Simple but powerful emotions and thoughts flooded Jake's mind, and he roared at the tiny Goblin as he grabbed it. He pierced its shoulders with his long nails and slammed the struggling form into the tree with his full momentum, feeling it go limb. Releasing it instinctively, he scampered up the tree, turned, and hung upside down. The three Goblins were still holding Mason, staring at him with eyes as round as saucers.

Jake felt the overpowering emotions and instincts slowly disappear, a fraction of control returning to him. Part of him noticed how the anger seemed to integrate into his being, becoming a natural part of him, and with what felt like a tiny shock, the final part of the other vanished into him.

"Jake!?" Mason muttered.

The sound of Mason's muffled voice, tired and weak, rekindled Jake's rage as he looked at his best friend's beaten and battered form. Murderous thoughts surged forward as he imagined ripping the Goblins apart.

No! Scare them off, or Mason might get caught in the crossfire, he thought, barely able to overpower his instinctive desire to maul. He jumped forward and down and landed beside Mason, causing the three Goblins to bounce back, trying to get out of the way.

For a moment, there was a quiet as the Goblins stared at him in fear, and Mason, free of the restraints, raised a hand as if to touch him. Jake expected a remark, something, but there was no peep from Mason's battered form.

"Mason, are you injured?" Jake stared at his silent friend, worried they had scrambled his brains somehow.

"Jake... you're a Dragon..." Mason said, his voice slurred and stuffy.

Jake felt like grinning but instead snarled at the Goblins, who backed up even more. "No shit, Sherlock! Now get up. We aren't safe yet!"

Mason blinked, blinked again, then scrambled to his feet, a look of utter shock on his face. "Sandra!" he shouted, looking around.

Sandra? Jake thought, surprised at the terrified look on Mason's face. He barely noticed the three Goblins flee in terror, then suddenly realized they were gone.

Shit, where are they? he couldn't see anything from this angle!

With Mason looking around in a panic, still appearing somewhat out of it, Jake jumped back on the side of the tree, climbed up a few meters, and looked around. He instantly saw another Kobold, not too far off, struggling with one Goblin while another sat on his back, biting his shoulder.

"To the left, behind the yellow-leafed bush!" he yelled, seeing a third Gobling hovering nearby, a spear in its hand, ready to strike.

The Goblin looked up at his yell, eyes widening as he saw Jake's dragon form clutched to the side of the tree.

Before he could even shout, Mason jumped through the bushes. Dammit, Jake thought as he jumped down and chased after Mason on all fours.

They burst out of the bush almost simultaneously, and Mason didn't even stop to look as he rushed to the green Kobold, whom Jake didn't recognize. Mason snarled, grabbed the Goblin, and tore it off the Kobold's back, slinging one of his massive arms around its neck. Nearby, the Goblin with the spear was licking his lips, looking around as if unsure what to do.

Jake ran forward, causing the Goblin to stumble back and make a halfhearted attempt at stabbing him. Jake accelerated around the poorly aimed hit, bit at the wobbly spear, and ripped it out of the Goblin's arms.

He spat the spear into the Goblin's face, then down into its arm, and began swinging the much smaller Goblin around. Like a crocodile did with its prey, he jerked it left and right until he heard something snap. He released his hold on the next swing, hurling the unmoving Goblin away before spitting out the foul-tasting blood. Behind him, Mason had taken care of the other two.

"Henry, are you alright?" Mason stepped forward, placing a hand on the much smaller Kobold's shoulder and staring at his face.

"Yes," the Kobold replied in a somewhat high-pitched, juvenile voice. He was drawing in ragged gulps of air and swaying on his feet.

"Okay, let's go. We need to help the rest..."

"Mason, there is a Dragon behind you!" Henry hissed, interrupting Mason.

"I know! That's Jake, my friend. Now follow me!" Mason looked around, then rushed towards the only direction from which fighting sounds still came.

Jake followed after Mason, noting Hendry's constant looks: fear mixed with awe.

They quickly came across a peculiar scene. Sandra, bleeding from a few gashes, was slamming a Goblin headfirst into the ground. Behind her were seven unmoving shapes, one of which was a Kobold.

"What took you two so- what the fuck is that?" Sandra screamed as she jumped back.

"Whatsup, Sandra," Jake said. Although his voice was deeper and had a constant resonating growl to it, she would probably recognize it.

Sandra's mouth opened and closed for two whole seconds before it closed with a snap. Eyes wide, the tall and muscular, bronze-colored Kobold stepped forward. "Jake? You- yeah, I guess that would have happened by now. How did you get here?" she said, rambling slightly.

"We can talk about these things later! Where are Melissa and Sam?" Mason shouted, interrupting her as he knelt next to the unmoving shape of the Kobold.

As Mason turned him over, Jake saw another unfamiliar face, and from the snapped-off spear sticking from his chest, he would never get to know this Kobold either. "Damnit!" Mason shouted, slamming his fist on the ground with a vengeful look on his face.

"Melissa is fine. She is hiding in one of the trees a bit back. She is the one who brought me here!" Jake said, knowing they needed to get out of here before Mason exploded and did something stupid.

"Good, that just leaves Sam. Can you climb up and look around?" Mason asked while looking around, cupping his large and pointed ears to pick up any more fighting sounds. But besides the rustling of the wind and some faint bird tweets, it was quiet.

Jake ran to the nearest tree, climbed up, and looked around. He vaguely remembered seeing another Kobold further away from the tree, but now all his keen dragon eyes picked up was a little mulled earth and some marks on the ground. He ran down and quickly shared what he knew with Mason.

"Ahh, shit..." Mason's head dropped while Sandra looked around worriedly. Henry still seemed woozy, leaning against a tree and staring at the ground.

A soft scuffle came from the trees above them, followed by a high-pitched voice. "Brother, can we come down now?" Tir asked as her small head poked through the leaves.

Besides Jake, everyone stared at the two small lizards looking down at them. Not too far behind them, they saw Melissa climbing towards them, an annoyed and upset look on her face.

"Brother?" Mason asked, staring at Jake with a look of utter confusion. "Did that gekko just call you Brother?"