Ascenders: Rising From Zero

The Forest Visitor

How do you cope with being the leader of a dog pack?

Any ideas?

Absolutely, there's none. You don't cope, you just go with the flow.

And of course, absorb as much bloodline as you can get.

To others, it meant something simple, like the what the movies portrayed. 

By God, he had missed movies. Focus, Bayo, Focus!

Yes, bloodlines. 

Armed with the entourage of wild dogs, he had set the pack after a Metal plated Dip Eagle nest.

Not that the pack could do anything but their presence was enough for him to claw into the bird, absorbing its bloodline. The result, the eagle turned aggression on him, picked him up into the air and flung him.

When he landed, he crashed down at the edge of the Cliff, overlooking the MonsterEater Anthill.

Gah!

He had business there too, but not for today. Armed with the pack, he had conducted raids, successful ones at that. His wealth of energy and bloodlines were the basis of his simulations with Yasmin's, creating new species or receiving failed combinations. That seemed somewhat easy, with Yasmin around

But to, communicate with series of huffs, grunts, growls and howls was tasking, mentally tasking to be precise. Oftentimes, Bayo would stroll off the pack towards the energy resource after chasing off any escorts or the alpha female at times.

And today was one of those times. Grunting, he shoved his snout in, picking a fish cleanly out of water. He set the fish down on the grass, using his two paws to hold it still as he munched the middle of his catch.

Yummy!

Over the past days, he had noticed the fishes were already becoming scanty. Which wasn't surprising considering how many fishes he had hunted down every single day.

An average of 11 fishes!

But as consumption was becoming more than supply, Bayo was certain he'd have to find another resource pool soon enough.

After all, he had lot of things he needed energy for besides staying alive.

At that moment, his motion sensing went haywire, bleeping repeatedly about a movement advancing towards him from behind. The motion sensing ability of the Latent stealth dog usually went haywire whenever something was moving stealthily around. 

And for it to blitz like this, then something silent was advancing towards him. And he couldn't afford to be caught. Quickly, he leapt up, abandoning the fish and creeping towards some overgrown bush just ahead to lay watch.

After what took forever, a drakonian crept into view, shirtless with loin cloth with an attached pouch and a spear that he had in parallel with his left arm. The drakonian moved closer to the pool, only stopping and rising up from its bent position to look around.

"What? I sensed that dog here. It couldn't have gotten away so fast... or did my dragon instincts fail?" The boy asked no one as he scratched his green jeweled forehead in confusion with his free hand.

At that moment, Bayo began shuffling out of his position, coming into view. He huffed a grunt to attract the drakonian, all caution thrown to the wind.

Not that he had a reason for. He was dealing with his friend after all, Jaspar

"Hey, Bayo..." Jaspar smiled, revealing white teeth that had a little sharp curvature at the edges. "It's been so long, Bayo. Oh, don't give me that look. I have being busy." Jaspar said, stretching his hands.

Bayo crosses over, rubbing his head against the thigh of his friend, Jaspar, the latter laughing heartily.

"Hey, stop! That tickles. Is that a greeting?" Jaspar asked, tapping the head of the dog.

Bayo nodded. Deep down, he had been acing instinctively but he was no longer fighting those instincts anymore.

As long as he remembered who he was then he would always be a not beast? creature??

Whatever!

"So, unlucky special creature, you found a pack already?" Bayo nodded. "Cool! Last time, we couldn't talk much but I remember you had some questions, Earth Bayo. You remember them?" Jaspar asked, dumping his weight on an elongated piece of rock. 

He let his spear clatter to the ground, watching it briefly before turning to Bayo who nodded at him, again.

"Wait, why have you been nodding since? Something happen to your voice?" 

Bayo nodded again, seating on his hunch.

"So, you can't talk?"

Another nod.

Jaspar paused, clasping his hands across his thighs unable to make anything out of what was happening.

"Can you write? What if I clear a spot for you, can you etch out words on them."

Another Nod.

With the confirmation, Jaspar rose up, dusting his loin cloth. He stooped, reaching to touch the ground. Once he connected, he started uprooting grasses in fast motion.

After a few seconds, Jaspar rose, dusting his hands as he observed the circular patch of clearing.

"There!"

Taking cue, Bayo bounded over to the clearing, his mind bustling with many questions.

In a short while he had clawed out, painstakingly the words in English that read 'Where am I?'

Jaspar squinted, looking at the words and even drawing closer to them.

"Uhm... Bayo? What did you write? Can't read it. It's not Yoruba!" Jaspar said, confused.

Seeing this, the dog's ear deflated as it sniffed the ground, looking at the words.

'Just why can't you read this? English is universal, right?'

"Must have been one of the new languages of  Eledumare's pet world. Never thought those linguistic classes were useful. If only I took them.

Have you heard the saying that Yoruba is the language of the Gods? Do you know Yoruba?" Jaspar asked, looking eagerly at Bayo.

Depressed, Bayo nodded. He knew Yoruba but he only knew just little of it. And that was when he had to speak it.

Now, he had to write Yoruba? Damnit, when he was still alive in Earth, the only way he'd passed his Yoruba exams was by duplicating his seat partner's work.

But he had to try.

Grumbling mentally, he wiped the English words off the dust and settled to etch out the Yoruba translation of where am I. 

NI BO MO WA.

Yes, that's it.

"Oh!" Jaspar oohed. "Well, you are in Orun. If it was English you wrote there then, Heaven is the direct translation in English. I think I know that because we have had some people go down to Earth that I am close to. Okay, that's by the way. You are in the Drakonian Confederacy Lands and this is the capital, Drago City and we are in the second heaven which has many realms in there. Seven heavens, each one stacked atop the other. 

And you know what's more, The Confederacy is a super duper world power. " Jaspar boasted, rubbing his jaw.

Oh, Bayo cooed mentally.

He was dead and he was in heaven. Except that Heaven was not the conventional idea of a golden paradise with streets paved with gold and silver. 

No, at least, he hadn't seen any gold streets yet.

So, now he was in Drago city, capital city for the Drakonian Confederacy which happened to be a world super power.

That was something.

Next question.

Quickly, he cleaned off the other words, hurrying to scratch something out.

What to ask next however made him pause in his fervor.

Wait, what was Jaspar doing in the forest and those people then?

Yes, that was his next question. Only that, it would require more of Yoruba.

After a minute of clawing and erasing, he finally made out the Yoruba words.

KINI EH SHEY NI OKO YI. 

Jaspar squinted, trying to make sense of the irregular clawed words.

"What were we doing in this f-farm? Ah, you mean forest? Hahaha." Jaspar laughed, heartily eyeing the dog.

"Well, it was a coming of age ceremony where I have to hunt an Iron Spike Tailed Dog with my dragon self. You know, Ironspike Tailed Dogs are pretty delicious, especially that tail area. So that's what we were doing. I was only being escorted by some people. Those people you saw."

'Coming of age? What's this? Some sort of ancient cultural village?' Bayo thought.

"What? Don't look at me like that! At least our coming of age ceremony is better than the Hadja Commune." Bayo tilted his head upon hearing Hadja Commune.

"Yes, Hadja commune, those ones strip, boy and girl and they have a public bath inside Agbara infused water. Can you imagine? Male and female inside the same bath pool in public?" Jaspar said, gesticulating.

"Honestly, I wish I was Hadjan. Once I clocked coming of age, I'd make sure to play with some many female genitals." He said , throwing his head back in dreamy fantasy.

'Ha! So you are a pervert guy? No biggie. You are a fellow man or culture. Hehehe." Bayo smiled, mentally.

Jaspar jerked, looking at the sky. Squeezing his face, he pouted.

"I'm already late. That old man will start breathing fire all about now. I need to go."

Bayo gasped mentally. 

'So fast? But I have only asked two questions?'

As if, Jaspar could read his mind,he drew near, patting Bayo on the head.

"It's okay. Hmmm... you smell like a pack leader. Nice, anyways, I have some herbs here, okay?" Jaspar dug into the pouch again, pulling out an incredible heap of green, yellow and blue herbs.

Standing up, Jaspar stretched, gazing into the sky again. The atmosphere had begun darkening, the inevitable sensation of dusk drawing near.

Yes, Dusk... Why was it that there was only dawn to dusk here, no night?

He should ask that but what was the Yoruba translation for dusk?

At least he could shuffle morning for dawn but dusk??

Mentally exhausted, Bayo heaved, watching as Jaspar form shimmered, dark green draconic wings sprouting from his back.

In one flap, the drakon lifted into the air, twisting to wave a hand at him before thrusting through the air, away from Bayo.