Wild Tiger Chase - Chapter 33: Chapter 33

— Rob - afternoon - five hours later —
A shiver coursed through Rob's entire body in a mix of feelings he couldn't quite name. His heartbeat quickened, his breathing shallowed, and his legs lost force. Rob stumbled a step backward and hit his back on the tree behind him. He grimaced, massaging the pins and needles spreading from the left side of his chest to his shoulder, neck, and temples.
"What's wrong?" Rafa asked in a whisper. "Are you feeling ill?"
A cold drop of sweat slid down the side of his face. His stomach upturned, and the burning inside it seemed to expand. Rob grimaced and shut his eyes.
"Beto, hey," Rafa whispered. She clasped a hand on his shoulders. "Look at me."
He opened his eyes. After a few blinks, his vision cleared. "I'm okay, it's... I don't know," Rob mumbled. He didn't want to interrupt Léon's conversation with his brother, so he lowered his voice to say, "I felt this... this pressure in my chest and in my head. A-and"—he swallowed hard—"fear, perhaps? Anxiety?" Bloody hell, he was going to throw up. "Ugh. It's... as if something was about to happen. Something bad." He inhaled and exhaled, trying to regain any control. His muscles tensed. "Wait. Are you feeling this?"
The skin on the back of his neck prickled. A cold wave washed over his body, and something clicked in his chest.
Something was coming, but he couldn't say exactly what.
The lines hardened in Rafa's face. "I don't feel anything." She rested a warm hand on his forehead, then turned his face to her. "You're pale, Beto. You should go see Caidara or Anhangá. Maybe both."
Rob nodded. The shadows were now elongated around them, proving they had spent precious hours on a training session that only helped one out of the three cosmic trace wielders there. Yes, Rob was glad that Pipo would have a chance at controlling his powers, but no, he wasn't satisfied with the fact Léon and Rafa wouldn't.
A new wave of pain coursed through his body. The only reason Rob managed to keep on his feet was the support Rafa gave him.
"Yeah... perhaps I should go see them," Rob murmured.
There was too much happening at once. Rob hadn't missed the way shite always seemed to go south in his life. Being a super was a fucking lot of responsibility. He missed being just an officer in Cidade Santa.
Rafa gave a hard smack on his shoulder, bringing Rob back to reality. "Go on, then." She jerked her chin to show the pat to Caidara's cottage. "I'll stay here and watch." She looked at Léon and Pipo, then took in a deep breath. Finally, maybe remembering she was supposed to be mad at him, Rafa gave an awkward pat on Rob's shoulder and stepped back.
"Rafa?"
She turned around and waited.
"I'm sorry I didn't tell you about Anhangá sooner." He lowered his eyes. "I just... you don't need to take care of me anymore. There's enough on your plate." Rob's balled hands trembled. "You're my sister, not my babysitter."
"This has nothing to do with being your sister, Beto." Her voice was more saddened than angry. "I choose to be by your side."
Rob's eyes widened. He opened and closed his hands, maybe to control the tears building up inside him. Rafa walked away.
"That means she wants to be involved," said a voice at his back. "No matter how hard you try to keep her out of this."
"I know." Rob turned around to find Anhangá's dark eyes. "I don't need you to translate her words to me."
Anhangá smirked. "You're not very bright, bitter boy. I just thought I'd help."
"Shut up." Rob frowned and lowered his gaze. When he did, it grazed and set on the dark veins spreading on Anhangá's left arm. He reached for it, but Anhangá slid his arm to his back, out of Rob's reach.
"It's nothing to worry about, bitter boy."
Rob's eyebrows drew together. He opened and closed his lips, but decided to keep silent. He rubbed his chest; his gaze rolled even lower.
Anhangá smiled and patted Rob's arm. With the same hand, he gestured forward to show Léon, Pipo, and Rafa. "You should focus on them instead. You know there's nothing you can do for me."
With a sigh, Rob shrugged his hand off of him and took a step backward. "How could I know? You never told me much about this"—Rob gestured to Anhangá's arm—"and neither... about you."
"About...?" Anhangá's eyes bulged. His posture stiffened for a second and melted in the next as he leaned forward to grip Rob's arm, tighter than before. "Is this... are you worried about me, bitter boy? Honestly?"
Rob averted his eyes and clicked his tongue. He willed himself to calm down, but his cheeks still heated up. "Don't be a prick about it."
"Unbelievable." Anhangá scoffed and straightened his back. "And all it took me was to start dying." He grinned. "Say, are you finally letting your defenses down? Is this the time to have our threesome with Léon?" He stepped closer and slid a hungry hand up Rob's chest, letting a smirk skew his lips. "I may be shorter, but I still have centuries of experience."
Rob shivered. "Shut it, mate." He furrowed his brows and pivoted around to rest a shoulder against the tree at his side. Anhangá leaned on him, a mocking grin pulling his lips.
As Rob shifted his attention from Anhangá to Léon, the feeling came back. The cold, invasive wave ran through his body, and something gave a hard tug at the back of his skull. Rob covered the back of his neck with a hand and scratched. There was nothing there. Still, a hot sensation circled his neck and tightened.
Shite.
Something's coming.
"Maybe we should head inside Caidara's cottage? I..." Rob massaged his neck; his heartbeat quickened. "I don't think it's safe here."
A crease formed between Anhangá's brows. "What do you mean?"
A frustrated grunt interrupted their conversation. Pipo slapped his thighs and pouted. "I said I can't!"
"Pietro, please." Léon clicked his tongue and groaned. "Look, I know it's scary, but you don't have to fear your powers. They're part of your, right?" That last sentence sounded almost hollow. "At least try it. It's for your own good."
"No." Pipo looked at Léon and Rafa, then shot a pleading look at Rob. "Tell them, Rob. I'll just hurt them again. Like I did before!"
Léon took a careful, slow step backward and crossed his arms; his shoulders sunk. The sun was dipping behind the horizon now, and as the strong orange seeped through the trees, the light clipped Léon's expression, casting shadows over his eyes and mouth. The air smelled like approaching rain, but Rob would easily trade that, one of his favorite scents in the world, for the chance to decipher Léon's feelings right now.
After a heartbeat of silence, Léon raised his eyes.
"Don't think like that, Pipo," he cooed. "And don't worry if you can't find your companions at first." Léon crouched in front of Pipo and held one of his hands. "Just look for a warm presence in your mind. It'll feel like an old friend or a good memory."
"I told you I can't!" Pipo said.
Léon let out a sigh and caressed his arm, getting up. Why did it seem like he was retreating into himself? Why did it feel as if he was miles away from him? Rob thought about walking up to Léon and embracing him, but something told him this wasn't the time.
Rafa tapped Léon's shoulder and called him with a gesture. In silence, they walked back to where Caidara and Phillip sat together, eating fried cassavas. Rob and Anhangá approached the group.
"Caidara," Rafa began. "I want to try something. Can you make sure the kid won't be scared?"
The old woman took a crunchy bite of her fried cassava and narrowed her eyes. "It depends. What exactly are you asking me to do? My third-grade healing powers aren't exactly appropriate to deal with cosmic trace wielders."
Understanding dawned on Léon's eyes; his lips curled into a smile, but not sincere enough to reach his eyes. "Just don't let us feel pain until Pipo's companions show up. If Pipo sees us in pain, he'll stop."
Rafa gave him a wide smile and nodded. "Exactly."
Caidara's wrinkled face scrunched up in a frown. "We feel pain for a reason, kids. Are you sure you want me to block that? What if—"
"Yeah," Rafa interrupted. "I think I remembered how my aunt helped me to awaken my companions. I don't think I understand what she said, but I can sing note by note. I suppose it might help."
"Sing?" Léon echoed.
"Music is powerful," Caidara murmured. She shrugged, nibbled at her fried cassava, and closed her eyes. After a moment in silence, she looked at Léon and Rafa again. "All right. It's your lives, kids. If you're sure you want to do this, then I'll block your pain."
"Please do," Rafa and Léon answered in unison.
Rafa swallowed and cleared her throat. At Rob's side, Anhangá tensed.
"Forget about powers, Pipo. Just see if you can recognize this song. Concentrate on my voice, all right?" Rafa held Pipo's hands.
The little boy pouted and lowered his gaze. "But the last time you told me to think hard and I did, you and Leo got hurt."
"This won't happen this time, munchkin. I promise," Léon said, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Can Rafa sing to you?"
Finally, with a downturned curl on his lips, Pipo nodded.
Rafa started humming. Rob had never heard that melody before, but he was pretty sure Rafa wasn't just making it up. The notes she sang were all too strong and too beautiful to be anything less than a precious heirloom.
Something stirred in Rob's chest and the feeling only intensified when Anhangá got to his feet, adding words to that rhythm. Rob didn't understand those sounds—he had never heard anything like the language Anhangá was using—but the words reverberated inside him.
She was small once it started. A girl, not a name, lost within her own forest.
Something ached inside him.
Rafa leaned forward and rested her forehead against Pipo's, cupping his cheeks. Pipo's shoulders relaxed, his breathing slowed down, and he finally closed his eyes. A trail of blood rolled down from Rafa's ears, but she didn't even flinch.
She tried to teach them, the men from the sea. They killed and they gobbled everything they could see.
Rob's eyes moved from Rafa to Pipo, jumped to Léon, and then rested on Anhangá's profile.
He had never seen him cry before.
"An," Rob called in a soft voice, reaching for his hand.
But what they never ended was the forest itself, and as much as they tried, it thrived as well.
Something interrupted Anhangá. Coming from Pipo, a wave of silence spread and washed over them, as dark, good, peaceful, and expansive as the universe around them. Inside that absence of light and color, there was nothing but comfort and calmness. As the wave dissolved into shadowy mist, a squeal and a high-pitched giggle filled the forest.
"Leo, look!" came Pipo's voice—and it sounded so much younger and happier, Rob jumped to his feet, eyes widened in anticipation.
When the threads of darkness disappeared, two little creatures rested on Pipo's hands.
Two little clownfish.
The fishes floated upward—slow and trembly at first, as if disoriented; quick and spry later, as if ready to travel the world. The thulian fishes didn't have any difference in size between each other, but they were so small, they both fit in Pipo's palm.
That cold, scary, weird feeling washed over Rob again, this time much stronger than ever before.
Three things happened at the same time after that.
First, Léon laughed against his hand and sniffed. Not only because of Pipo's companions, it seemed, but also because Pipo was back to his original self, a little seven-year-old boy.
Second, Rafa fell seated—and clearly exhausted—on the grass. She lowered her face and used her black t-shirt to clean it.
And third, a shot boomed through Caidara's pocket dimension, scaring flocks of birds around them. Cracks webbed upward and a piece of the sky shattered, revealing part of the old forest around Aíbetama.
"Found you," a voice said.