Finding BAlance in Chaos pt. 3

Perhaps I shall.

Zaro had initially thought that should be the end of it. However, not long after that encounter, he found himself approached once again by a group of Haedians seeking retribution. This time, they seemed less on edge, expressing a willingness to settle the matter with a few words. A favor for forgiveness, they proposed, to maintain equilibrium.

The puller acknowledged that a task like this suited him, aligning with his drive to bring balance amid chaos. Though the Haedians remained wary, Zaro's agreeable attitude and willingness to assist in their task seemed to ease their frustrations. Zaro was not unreasonable; unless provoked, he refrained from engaging in unnecessary conflicts.

"The mighty Devil's Python, reduced to this," Zara's amusement grated on Zaro, but he ignored her tone as she hissed through her beak-like maw, "A gardener."

Looking up from the ground he'd been scrutinizing, Zaro fixed Zara with a stare, letting out a huff of annoyance. It was hard to tell, sometimes, whether she revered or feared him, but in moments like these the lined seemed to be blurred even further. It bothered him not, but it was intricate, this dance of theirs around each other, probing and testing the boundaries each time.

"It is what was asked of me to repair the damage I had done," His tone was amicable and spoke of reason, "If this is what they would have me do, then I shall do it."

That only seemed to entertain Zara further, who was roosting nearby as its massive talons and large size were not suited to this task. That didn't stop them from observing and commentating on the goings on, however, and Zaro was moments from asking for silence.

Instead, Zaro turned back to the task at hand. His eyes turned down to observe the collection of plants growing out of the side of what he could only describe as a chasm. The plants were not named, but he'd been affectionately calling them Chasm Creepers ever since he started pulling them from the rock face.

They were purple and blue, though colors were something Zaro was unsure of due to his life in the desert where color wasn't abundant. The soft glow they emitted was admittedly quite astonishing, and the act of pulling them from the chasm-face, delicately with his teeth or claws, was soothing in its own right. Perhaps that was the reason he'd been giving such a task, a bit of meditation to consider what he'd done like a petulant pup being scolded.

"What do you suppose they use these for?" Zara was speaking again, but this time its words were not accompanied by a strange hiss. Zaro looked up, claws entangled in the roots of the current creeper he was trying to pull free. Zara had shifted, rare as it was for them to do, and was standing at Zaro's shoulder peering down at the plant. Human in shape, with fingers much more deft and agile - better for gardening.

"You could have done that much sooner," Zaro grumbled, looking down at his humanoid companion as they knelt next to the chasm, unafraid of falling in the slightest.

"It was funnier to watch you struggle," Zara freely admitted, reaching out and plucking the delicate root system from Zaro's claws, "But I will help, now." Zaro huffed, the sound echoing off the walls around them. At least they were being helpful, instead of merely watching Zaro struggle with this.

"If this will mend relations with the other clan," Zaro sat back, watching as Zara more expertly began pulling creepers from the rock, "Then it is good of us to do this. There will be more to please, and balance to be struck while we remain here."

Zara nodded, humming a bit in that higher-pitched voice they had in this form. They never questioned Zaro, his desires, or his methods, and he doubted that he needed to explain them now.

"We may also need to fight," HE warned, though this was the least of their concerns. True to form, Zara merely laughed, the bell-like sound ringing against the rocks and crystals surrounding them.

"Oh, I'm sure we can manage that," They said dismissively, moving to pile the creeper into the basket they'd been provided for delivery, "They're afraid of you." It was a statement, plain and simple, that carried more weight than perhaps intended.

"They fear what I am, and how I resist their magic," Zaro said simply, reaching to pull more of the plants free to load into their basket, "Surely not all will be as confused by my status as the ones we have met."

What had he been called in Thedale, by those passing humans? Mutated. Funny, how such a grotesque word could bring such pride, could feel so normal to him now. Was he a mutant? Or was he just further evolved? Musings for another time.

"Have we enough?" Zara interrupted his thoughts, and Zaro looked down at their filled basket.

"It will be enough," He nodded, stooping to pull the handles into his mouth to carry, "They will be satisfied or they will not, but I am done here." Zara snickered at the way the woven basket made Zaro's speech slur, but they did not comment.

"Let us deliver them, then," Zara started off in the direction of their meetup point with the clan, long hair swishing behind them as they practically skipped through the caverns. Zaro followed, eager to be done with this task and move on. There was more to see in this place, and he wanted to see all of it.

At any cost.