18 The Way of the Amygdala (1/2)

Chapter 18: The Way of the Amygdala

Within Finch's chamber, Miles sat with the plague doctor as his table. There was a kettle brewing on a magic rock in the center of the table, from the fire of Finch's aura. The feline seemed slightly uneasy about the discussion. Finch on the other hand appeared intrigued. ”I see. So she rejected you. It's not surprising really, with how diverse our lifespans are. The courting behaviors are so diverse between our species, it's truly fascinating.” Finch remarked, purely interested in the learning experience.

”Age is just a number, so who cares if she's outlives me? Besides... What else am I missing? I just don't get it.” Miles pouted, in a grumpy manner. ”Am I not her type or something?”

”I don't believe you understand how complicated it is for an Amygdala to live nearly two hundred years after a Leashed has already expired... Even so, as the Queen had said, Amygdala like her and I, do not mate the same way as a leashed would. It runs much deeper than that, I'm afraid. Our kind are a very complex species.” Finch replied with a shrug, pouring a cup of tea. ”Tea?”

Miles shook his head. ”Pass... Could you help me out then, Finch? I want to understand, maybe find a way to work things out. Ya'know?” Miles inquired, with furrowed brows.

Finch took a sip from his tea cup. ”If it pleases you. Hmm, oh where to begin?” He pondered briefly.

”I want to know these things she said I wouldn't understand.” Miles admitted.

”Ah, yes. I do have to warn you, it is quite a lot of knowledge to take in.” Finch chuckled.

”I'll endure it.” The feline nodded.

Finch set down his tea cup, entwining his fingers. ”As I'm sure you're aware, our kind were forced into a state of isolation. We're physically forbidden from having many freedoms that those others take for granted, like friendship, relationships, even family. As you can already tell, many of us break these rules in secret. However, if the Templar were to discover, it wouldn't bode so well. I'm unsure where our power laid before the great war, but I know for certain our aptitude does not lie in strength, or bravery.”

”What do you mean?” Miles asked.

”There are power in number to be sure, though in truth an Amygdala's greatest strength is our wisdom, and the Rhyme fear that. We know things that they can't even begin to fathom... However, the templar also are aware of our greatest weakness. The result of keeping us apart, plays into their favor.” Finch went on.

”Weakness?” Miles seemed more interested in the topic, leaning forward slightly.

”Indeed. You see, Amygdala, full blood or otherwise, have very vulnerable hearts. In turn, heartbreak can result in our death.” Finch explained.

”...” Miles seemed shocked.

Finch sighed, leaning back in his seat, crossing his arms. ”Parents being taken from their children, friends forcefully torn apart, even rejection or loss of someone you have come to love. The heart is a weak thing, and it can physically kill us. As this entails, our kind only take a significant other when we cannot bare to part with them. Most of us never let ourselves love another, cause we're afraid those emotions would kill us. The ones who do, only ever choose one, a life partner, much like that of hawks or wolves. They would fight for their love, and even be willing to die for them. The sad fact of it all is, if one dies, so does another. It's much like love birds, but that's life.” Finch stated, ina very cynical manner.

”Love can kill?... That's so messed up.” Miles held his head, his eyes trembling. ”(No wonder Nye was so pissed off... I had no idea it was like that.)”

”I know, but there is little we can do. Perhaps if we are to achieve freedom, it will be less harsh.” Finch took another sip of his tea. ”We are easily susceptible to strong emotions, and it can act as a double-edged sword.”

Miles took a breath, looking to Finch. ”What else should I know, so I don't step out of line again.”

Finch glanced Miles's way. ”Well, if you want add to things you may not be aware of... It might be hard for an allosexual race to grasp. Amygdala often choose mates by their aura. Each of us have a unique one, and it an tell a lot about another Amygdala... though I suspect other things could fall into play as well for crossbreeding. I've never experienced the phenomenon of 'love', so I don't fully understand it myself.”

”What about sex? Nye said it worked differently for Amygdala.” Miles rest his chin to his arms on the table.

Finch seemed intrigued by Miles' curiosity, and went to grab his journal, and sat it on the table. ”I do know that when it comes to the mating courtship, that it is only done for reproduction. In the manner of 'sex' that you are referring to, only male Amygdala are able to.” He explained, opening the book to a page where there was illustrations depicting what Amygdala looked like unclothed, and motioned first to the male, beforehaving Miles turn his attention to the female anatomy; with notes written along the images.” However, females lack the proper means to carry a child in the way that other species do. Instead, offspring are conceived by mental means. The pressing of foreheads, if you would, and a mother's aura creates a cocoon of sorts. Due to Templar's rules, these 'brain babies' are left to develop and hatch on it's own and thus forth raise themselves. It's unfortunate, but only perhaps thirty percent of offspring make it to adulthood. It's survival of the fittest out there.” Finch explained further.

”Man... that sounds grim...” Miles muttered, with his ears back in pity.

”It is what it is, but that's how Maker has let us evolve. Even so, when it comes to breeding, a female Amygdala can mate with either gender and other species, since the child would be born the same way as any Amygdala would. Males however, cannot mate with other males to reproduce. They still can successfully breed with other species in the manner you can, even though we take no pleasure it in.” Finch stated.

”How did you learn all of this?” Miles asked.

”I'm an Amygdala, learning comes naturally to me. Even so, knowledge is passed around from one to another very easily.” Finch admitted, pouring another cup of tea. ”Are you quite satisfied now? Or do you have other inquires?”

Miles shook his head, ”No, I think I heard enough. Thanks for filling me in. Man though, I really should apologize to Nye.”

”I'm sure she understands, with you being another species. You didn't understand our way of life, but now you do.” Finch replied,sipping the tea.

”Yeah, well guess I'll go wait for her to come back. Thanks again for the info.” Miles got to his feet.

”Of course. Oh, and Miles.” Finch glanced over, catching the cat's eye peering back. ”Do keep an eye on that Dream weaver if you see him around the Queen. I do not trust him, nor do I like Nyghtmare's choice on recruiting his aid.”

”Same here, so will do.” Miles nodded, heading out of the doctor's chambers.

The scene panned to the sleeping chambers upstairs, where Zyron was placed in one of the round shaped beds, that had animal skin covering it like a blanket of fur. Solitaire was sitting beside him, looking over the sleeping canine. Ashewyn was still present as well, leaning against the nearby wooden pillar of the room, with his hands in his pockets.

”I've been wondering something, Smokey.” Solitaire glanced back to Ashe.

”(Smokey?)” He sweated a bit, seeming a bit uneasy. ”Uh, yeah, what's up?”

”How does Finch know that Zyron's gonna be alright? The poor bloke doesn't seem like he's improved much...” Solitaire inquired, extending her hand to touch Zyron's floppy ears. ”I couldn't even tell that he was this far gone back in Possebiggo.”

Ashe shrugged, closing his eyes. ”Cause he didn't see the visions of rain.”

”I'm afraid that I don't understand.” Solitaire shifted, turning more to Ashe's direction.

”It's a phenomenon that only Amygdala can see. The best way I can describe it is, your surroundings become misty in a way, and there appears to be rainfall manifesting around you. Though you can't smell the petrichor, or feel the cold droplets, the rain still appears to be there. We've come to refer to it as having 'visions of rain'.Witnessing this symbolizes an impending death nearby. When someone is in the process of dying, or their body failing. It's our little known secret, that Amygdalacan sense when someone close by is nearing their end.” Ashe explained.

”Blimey... That must be so horrible... How do you live with knowing that?” Solitaire furrowed her brows.

”Eh, you get used to it after a while. So don't worry, kay? Finch and I both are close enough to make sure your Leashed Vulpis won't die. The doc's pretty reliable with his methods though, with how passionate he is with his work. If he says the dog will be okay, than he will. He knows his shit.” Ashe cleaned out his ear, with his pinkie.

”That puts my mind more at ease. Really.... But you called him a 'Vulpis'? I thought his species, only were called leashed.” Solitaire smiled.

Ashe smiled back. ”All Leashed have other names, it's like classifying them as one breed to make it easier. You can blame the Templar for that.”

”That's cruel in a way... Almost like a racial slur... So if the canine are Vulpis, then what are the other ones called?” Solitaire inquired.

”Well, I guess. I know they don't like being called that generally unless they don't know any better. Of the ones I'm familiar with, I know there are the Vuplis, the Lugooz and the Shin. Lugooz being the feline, like Miles, and the Shin being rodents.” Ashe admitted.

”I'll try to keep that in mind, so I don't offend them. Those Templar seem like terrible blokes.” Solitaire shrugged.

”That's why Nye's leading this uprising against them. Any who. Go ahead and get some rest, both the doc and I are on watch duty. I'm sure you're tired.” Ashewyn chuckled.

”Well, alright. I'm gonna have to pay you back one of these days.” Solitaire winked to him, before exiting the room.

Ashe scratched his head, with a sigh. ”She seems nice, but man that is one strange chick.”

Elsewhere, around a vast field of grass and trees, Nye was standing on a large hill, overlooking the landscape. She seemed to be lost in thought at the moment. Nikolai was floating not far behind her, glancing to the soon to be setting sun.

”Mistress. Is there something you require of me? You seem out of sorts, mi'lady.” Nikolai floated behind Nye, coiling around her to peer up.

Nye had a solemn expression, staring off as far as the eye can see. ”Sorry Nikolai, but I just don't feel like talking about it.”

”Then shall I give you some space, my Queen? Perhaps go and find you some beautiful flowers that suit you?” Nikolai had wrapped around to the other side of her, still gazing up at Nye with that cute little skull face of his.

Nye shook her head. ”There's no need, but thanks for the gesture, my friend.”She kept her gaze ahead, still appearing very stoic.

”Of course milady. Is there something else I can be of assistance with?” Nikolai bowed, but Nye didn't reply, causing Nikolai to look up again. ”Perhaps a moment to be alone is what you desire, mistress. If you require my aid, I will be close by.” He said, before poofing into a dark shady smoke.

Nye glanced back to where he had been, before setting her eyes to the scenery once more. ”I swear, that feline has some nerve.” She muttered to herself, in an agitated manner.

unbeknownst to Nye, something dropped out of the sky, and landed roughly right behind where she was standing. This forced a gust to pick up, however there was no immediate room for Nye to react, before the person had one arm wrapped aroundNye's collarbone to her shoulder, and the other holding a sword blade to her neck. Nye was taken by surprise, and could barely move to peer behind her.

White angelic wings were about the only thing she could see. ”Finally found you. This time you won't be able to disappear like before. The Grand master has been expecting you.” The voice that spoke to her, was none other than the auburn haired templar, Kloud.

”I'm really not in the mood to deal with you, or your Grand master right now, templar.” Nye growled, quickly gripping to the blade of his sword, to pull it away from her neck. Without hesitation, or room for him to react, she slammed her elbow back hard, into his chest. This knocked Kloud back to the ground, however in that same instance, the edge of his blade dug into her palm. It carved a deep cut into Nye's hand, forcing blood to fly out from the recoil.

Nye flinched as she jumped to a distance, gripping to her bleeding palm. However, between the time it took to glance back up from her hand, Kloud was already charging her way with both his blades drawn. He immediately came at her swinging hard. It almost mirrored their previous battle, Kloud slashed his blades, one after another continuously whilst on the attack. Nye could do little more than jump back with each strike, and side stepping as he jabbed one of the blades forward. The lack of ferocity in his attacks was showing, with every attempted blow.

”Just stand still! Stop eluding me, woman!” Kloud pleaded in a pouty manner, missing by a strand of hair.

Nye only held scornful eyes, as she dodged each strike. With her hand like that, it would be hard to fight, but her wings were recovering, so she wouldn't be able to fly at this point. Too many thoughts rushed through her head, as the Queen of fiends was left on the complete defensive. Kloud's strikes didn't subside, as he kept thrusting his blade at Nye, until he finally cornered her. Nye's back had collided with a tree, but before she could move, Kloud pieced the trunk on both sides of her throat, in an 'X' position. Nye felt some blood drip down the side of her neck, where she was barely grazed by the metal of his blade.

”End of the line, lady. Going to come quietly, or do you plan to keep this convoluted?” Kloud tried to put on a brave face.

Nye's piercing green eyes may have seemed surprised, but it was clear she wasn't happy about this. Kloud kept his hands to the hilts of his blades, however his mind started to be obstructed with thoughts. He had an uneasy gaze, as what seemed to be Nye somehow draw close to him, with her hands were gently placed to his chest. He blushed nervously as her lips were only inches away from his now. Her eyes were closed, with a seemingly mischievous smirk.

”Umm, uh... W-What are you d-d-doing?!” He blushed frantically, his heart was beating out of his chest.

”Was I playing too hard to get, Kloud? How about we just forget about Aoba? I know you want me, handsome.” Nye's voice spoke, nearly kissing him at this point.

Kloud clenched his eyes tightly closed, blushing profusely. ”S-Stop trying to seduce me! I-I admit it! You're very attractive! B-B-B-But-but! There's-There's someone I'm already in love with!” He exclaimed, his heart pounding a million miles an hour.