“No need to be upset. I do love her. She’s my soulmate. I was skeptical at first. Barbarus,” they said, and the words barbarian, warrior, and orc sounded in my mind, “don’t believe in soulmates or glowing crystals, but the weird rock was right. Talvax and I belong together.”
“I’m struggling with that part, I guess. I want to go home when this is all over,” I confessed.
“That’s your right. And if that’s what you need to do at the end, you should.”
“You’re not going to convince me to stay?”
“Not my job. My purpose is to support you through this no matter what you choose. I also want to let you know, anything you say when we meet will stay between us. I won’t even tell Talvax.”
“Thanks.”
“Certainly.”
“I have a question.”
“Go ahead,” Urgg said, slapping my arm, which made me contain a groan. I was going to be bruised by the end of this.
“Kal says we're mates, but he also says not all drakcol seek the Crystal, so how does it work?”
They scrubbed their hair as their black tongue wetted their lips. “I’m not a drakcol, so this is not my area of expertise, but they have two types of mates, chosen and bound. Chosen mates are when a drakcol picks a person to spend their life with. Bound mates are when the Crystal chooses a soulmate and binds the two together.
“They mate for life?” I asked. Pimtimzol had said as much.
“Yes.”
“My species doesn’t.”
“Nor mine, but I chose to remain with Talvax. She is the love of my life, and she believed me when I promised to stay loyal to her.”
“I have another question,” I said.
“Go ahead.”
“This whole warrior soul thing. I’m not a warrior. I don’t even play sports.”
“That wasn’t a question, at least not in my language.”
“How can I be a warrior soul?”
“I’m a baker and I have a warrior soul. Why wouldn’t you?” they said, slapping me again.
I managed to refrain from commenting on their copious muscles. It was clear why Urgg was a warrior soul.
They must have sensed my hesitation because they continued, “People come in all shapes and sizes with different skills. My brother mated with a drakcol as well. He’s huge, scary, and has yet to find a tavern he won’t brawl in, but he’s a creative soul. He likes to make things, foster things, and create art. Personally, I don’t believe in this soul-type crap. It’s a drakcol thing and limiting. People are more than one thing, but it’s what they believe.”
“I’m no warrior.”
Urgg grunted. “It means you’re protective. You would fight before you would flee. Your warrior soul can mean whatever you want, or you can join me on the its bunk shit pile.”
NAID had a very hard time translating whatever that metaphor was.
Fight before fleeing? I scoffed. All I did was flee. “Horseshit.”
“What the fuck is a horse?”
The meeting didn’t continue much longer. When Urgg left, they invited me to visit their bakery on the fifth floor near the starboard hull.
After a few minutes of silence, Lucy poked her head out of the room and squeaked at me. She rarely meowed, but rather, made high-pitched chirps.
