Chapter 4: The Ambush

A ridiculous plan turns into an attack against deadly foes...and an invisible rivalry.

Chapter 4: Ambush

 

       “You already visited here! For the second time I said no!” The door slammed in poor Basil’s face who was about to ask the gentleman one last time if he could keep an eye out for a certain someone but he huffed with his shoulders sagging as he walked away from the house. He was annoying a lot of ferals today with his questioning.

Had they seen a girl with a white tail?

It was always the same response…a big fat no with the door in his nose. One time he accidentally got his tail stuck in the door frame when they shut him out and he never yelled so hard in his life.

He was still trying to mend the hairs while walking down the dusty streets.

“I wasn’t imagining it…right?” He asked himself, recalling back to the fox feral who nearly did him in.

 No…that’d be stupid if his body somehow magically teleported somewhere else and was better in a matter of minutes. His back didn’t even feel as if he had been attacked…and there was no bruise either. Basil moaned in annoyance as he rubbed the sides of his head. “…I’m losing my mind…trying to find one cat in this place.”

The entire morning was wasted…going door to door…shop to shop…with only one piece of information…

“Uh…I can feel my head splitting…” he mumbled and released his tail to stop within the marketplace once more. “…I’m not good at playing the stalker…my spying days are long gone…” Basil lifted his eyes up to the bright sky, enjoying the warmth of the rising sun before his eyes narrowed. “…you know what…? No! I’m a thief, damnit! I should be better than this!” He placed his claws on his hips with pride.

 “That’s right! I can do this without seeming so desperate!”

His commotion drew a few eyes his way and even a mother pulled her child a bit away from him.

“Don’t make eye contact with him, sweetheart. He’s a bit mental.”

“Yes, mama,” the boy responded but Basil hit the palm of his hand with his fist.

“Right! Let’s get down to business! Where would be the best place for information…? Who would have the gossip…and not afraid to spill it?” He quieted down to ask himself and itched his ear in thought. The market was good…but only to a certain degree. Sellers and even buyers would keep most of their business to themselves and you’d have to be right against their backs to get an ounce of their conversation so it was a no go.

“…I’m not getting that close to someone,” he shivered in disgust and looked around in thought.

The brothel was also a good source for gossip…possibly even better than the market…but he groaned when he realized he was flat broke. “…I haven’t been doing my thief duties lately,” he whispered with his ears drooping and crossed that option off his list.

“Hey, want to go grab a tall one before it gets packed?”

“Sure, I could really use one right now.”

Basil turned his red eyes to a passing conversation of two ferals who seemed to be heading to the nearby bar.

‘Of course! What better place?!’ He grinned in victory and appeared innocent as he left the market place to squeeze between two buildings, hiding in the shadows. Using his sharp claws and feet, Basil gripped some of the broken planks of the house that jutted out to help him climb up. From the rooftops, he’d be able to travel there in no time and have a good vantage point to drink in the juicy gossip. The feline hauled himself up before making his way across the shingles toward the next house in his path. He did his best to be as quiet as possible to not alert those inside but he couldn’t help the occasional shingle or piece of wood that fell due to a misstep.

Hopefully, he would get some answers to his burning questions…whether they included the girl or the fox Imperial. He’d be content with one or the other. He reached the end of the current house and easily leaped to the roof of the next one, not missing a beat but did have to slow down when a small crow landed in his path.

“Shoo!” He ordered in a hurried tone but the crow just seemed annoyed at his advancement. With a squawk, the bird flapped its wings to fly straight at him but he easily dodged and smacked it with his tail. “Dumb bird,” he muttered and slid down the shingles to skip over to the nearby building. It wasn’t too far now until he would reach the pub but the mere thought of it made his stomach grumble. He hadn’t eaten in a day it seemed…

He couldn’t remember what he ate last…which was sad.

“I could go for some nice juicy elk meat…tender juices…falling off the bone…” He salivated while slowing down at his current building to pat his lean stomach. “Soon, little buddy. We’re going to be back in business.”

Using his claws to help stabilize himself, Basil crawled along the steep roof to spot an open skylight. He peeked inside to see the pub. It was on the top floor to give the customers some privacy. There was smoking…drinking…a few thugs bashed each other over the head with a chair and no one seemed to care. Basil huffed and carefully scanned around from his vantage point to see if there was a way he could sneak in. He really didn’t want to be seen…since some of these ferals looked familiar…possible victims of his antics.

There had to be a window…or crack in the wall…

‘Bingo!’ He smirked when his feline eyes spotted a small broken wood plank near an empty table. It would be enough to squeeze into. Basil dug his claws into the wood to slowly climb down the side of the building until he reached the small opening.

Keeping himself hanging with only his arm muscles, Basil used his clawed feet to try and push over more planks to give himself a bit more room which he managed to get his legs into.

“Alright…time to suck in my small gut…” he whispered and lowered himself down a bit more to slide in on his back to slink under the table. His nose wrinkled and he wanted to cough at the terrible smells. Were the other ferals not caring about how they smelled?

Being as quiet as possible, he made sure no one was looking as he slinked to another table that was nearby to be even closer to the counter itself. The bartender seemed bored with his fish like fins for ears tucked back while washing a glass clean.

“Who are you calling fat, you swine?!” Yelled a drunken customer and tackled the accuser into a chair to break it. Again, no one seemed to care. Basil rolled his eyes and carefully kept moving along to try and find someone who seemed civilized but still drunk enough to spill the beans.

“There they go again…never giving this place a moment of peace…” said a feral male who came toward the table where Basil hid under. He quickly pushed his tail under his body to sit on it as the customer pulled out a chair to sit down. The feline didn’t really like being THIS close to another male…

“I totally agree. Nothing but ruffians. You couldn’t find us a better place?” This time it was a feminine voice and Basil peeked over his shoulder which craned his neck when the other chair pulled out to see legs belonging to a female coming closer with a very small skirt.

‘Oh, by the heavens do not do this to me,’ he pleaded with his ears tucked back and had to look away when the lady folded her legs…which would had given him more of an eyeful than he would had wanted.

“So, you’re looking better,” the male started which made Basil listen closely.

“Oh, you mean the cold? Yeah, I was fixed right up. Only took around five minutes as well.”

“She sure is a sweety, patching up others every hour. How much did you pay her?”

“Well I tried to pay her but the two ladies with her said they’d give it to her later.”

Sounded like the girl he was seeking…able to even cure an ailment? His ears fanned out a bit but he had to hold his breath when the gentleman wanted to stretch his legs which nearly kicked Basil in the face.

“I might go visit her again. She’s within walking distance from the market.”

“Yeah but the house is so…”

“About to fall apart?”

“I was going to say something along the lines of decrepit but you are blunt.”

‘Come on! I need more to go on than that!’ He huffed silently and decided it might be best to try and dig up information from others. He carefully slid out between their legs to the next table, growing closer and closer to the counter. A gruff looking bull feral took a large swig of his beer but had a nasty gash on his bulky arm.

‘…hmmm…this…could work…I’d be belittling myself…’ A small idea came to mind as Basil pulled his opened vest closer together to button it up for once and tore off a piece of a curtain with his claws to tie it around his nose and mouth. ‘Alright big boy…time to lay down the charm…’ With a soft inhale, Basil slipped out from the tables near a hidden corner where he could fully stand and kept an arm over his chest as he walked out into the bar where others could see him.

‘What do women do to charm…?’ His mind blanked as his strides were more like a man’s so he cleared his throat and started to swish his tail cutely and his hips swayed. ‘Not one of my…best ideas…’

After sauntering his way over to the bull, Basil plopped down on the chair next to him with a forced giggle.

“Hello, big fellow,” he said with a high-pitched voice. The bull snorted and took another sip of his drink.

“What’s wrong with your throat? You sound like a dying frog,” he bluntly replied and Basil nearly choked on a retort that would be more than just insulting but he forced his pride down while giggling more. “Oh, you’re a tease. Can I get you anything…something strong…or…perhaps…lean?” His voice tried to turn sultry as his tail slid up the spine of the bull feral who still…wasn’t biting but did glance down at him from his much taller height.

“…you’re flat chested.”

Basil’s ears flared up and he mockingly covered his vest.

“I was not gifted with my mother’s bosom I’ll have you know,” he defended and inwardly kicked himself at playing this way too well.

‘Are we males really like this? Nah!’ The bull huffed and seemed to grow disinterested. Basil needed to hurry with this. He faked a meek cough behind his hand.

“Uh…where’s a lady supposed to find good medicine around here?”

“…not at a bar…that’s for sure…but if you’ll shut up, there’s medicine stalls in the market. Not the best. Mostly just homemade remedies…but I would suggest going to see Fey.”

‘…Fey…?’ Basil grew a tiny bit rigid at the name but put his suspicions behind him since there could be other ladies named that.

“Who might this…Fey…be?”

“She’s a kind young cat feral. Cute, not my type though. She lives by the market and can apparently heal anyone. I plan on heading to her place tomorrow.”

“…do you know which home? The market is a pretty big place.”

“It has little charms outside. Can’t miss it,” he stated and downed the last of his drink. “…you know what…I think I’m drunk enough to be able to look past the fact that you sound like you’re gurgling on swamp water and you really don’t have anything to admire.”

With all the information he needed, Basil slid off the chair while fanning his face in a tease.

“Uh uh uh, not on our first day, you brute.” The bull narrowed his eyes a bit, rising from his chair to stand on his massive hooves. “You were so forward earlier and now playing hard to get? I don’t think so,” he grunted and snatched Basil’s arm but out of reflex, the feline smacked the feral as hard as he could which made him release his arm in surprise. It gave Basil enough time to dart around the tables, accidentally knocking over a chair and spilling a glass of beer in the process.

“If you must know,” he began, glaring back at the bull who was still in shock at how hard this “lady” smacked him and ripped off the cloth hiding his manlier face as well as unbuttoning his vest to show his bare chest. “I’m all man, sweetheart!” He smirked, toying with him with a curl of his tail but it only made the bull angry beyond belief.

“You’re dead!” Out of rage, the poor victim bashed through helpless tables to make his way toward Basil who quickly hurried down the stairs to the first floor where there were more patrons in a nicer looking bar. At his entrance, they all seemed confused but he weaved around the tables.

“Pardon me! Excuse me! Mad bull on the loose!” He tucked his tail close to slide past another table when he heard the commotion upstairs now venturing downstairs.

“ARRRGGHHH!” He heard the bull yell in aggravation just as he slipped out the front door of the bar and kept his pace up while running down the street.

“Note to self…never hit on another male unless I know what I’m doing first,” he panted softly and slowed down his run to peek behind him. Luckily, he had lost him but did manage to get some valuable information. Wiping off the sweat from his brow, Basil smiled and ducked into some of the alleyways to venture back toward the market. So, this lady lived so close under his nose and he had no idea about it?

It was funny how he remembered seeing a small house with different charms hanging on the awning but never paid any mind to it. The location of the home wasn’t the only thing that surprised him. He sped up his pace slightly when his mind recalled the name the bull had said.

Fey…

It really couldn’t be…not after all this time…

After losing touch of the soft hand in the snow storm…he presumed everyone he knew was long gone…

He bit his lower lip with anticipation and rounded the corner to the marketplace. It was the same number of customers as when he left but he ducked past some stalls to see a small house tucked away in the corner. Sure enough, there were different charms hanging outside. They were…oddly cute. One had an outline of a cat sitting up perfectly with a fortune dangling down from its tail. There was also a fish one…bear…but as he grew closer, he stopped when he saw a dragon one. He tilted his head curiously and inspected the fortune curiously.

‘No matter where life leads you, what fate has befallen you, silver eyes will always be watching and guiding.’

He tilted his head and released the piece of flimsy paper from the charm.

“…a bit lame,” he whispered and looked over to the cat one to only feel his breath catch in his throat.

‘One day we will go to the sea. All three. Fire, shadow, and light. Distance may be between us, but we will always be together in spirit.’

Sea…

Basil looked away from the charms toward the front entrance of the establishment which they had left the front door open, probably due to the warmth. He gingerly knocked on the side of the doorframe.

“Hello? Anyone in?” He called and it didn’t take long for an older lady to show up. She was hunched over, due to old age but her face…wasn’t as wrinkled as he thought it should be.

Odd…

“A customer?” She asked with a smile and Basil parted his lips to speak but his ears swiveled toward the inside of the house when he picked up on the sound of a beautiful string instrument being played.

‘…I know that song…’ he whispered mentally but looked back down at the caretaker who seemed skeptical about him now since he hadn’t answered.

“Oh yes! I’m starting to feel a tad ill…” he stated and covered his mouth to cough into his palm. “…I was wondering if I could see Fey to have her patch me up. I heard she’s really good.”

“Twenty gold coins.”

Twenty?! He was broke! He didn’t think about having to pay.

“Can you spare me this one time? I have kits back at home and I really don’t want them to get sick from their papa,” he faked a sad smile and tried to persuade her with puppy eyes…if he could even do that being a feline but she didn’t buy it as she huffed and went to close the door in his face.

“No money, no mending,” she told him from behind the door.

He growled lowly at being so close and would bypass the old bat if he had to. He went around to the side of the house where the music only grew stronger. There was a window…which could be a way in…

Gosh he felt like some pervert now wanting to sneak into a girl’s room but there was no other way in. He crouched under the window and carefully peeked in to make sure she would at least be decent.

The room was small…had a few more charms and small personal knick knacks but sitting in the middle was the lady he had been told about. His heart only grew faster to see her white feline tail curled around her silken gown…long flowing snow like hair…and two white ears. The instrument was on her lap with her eyes closed as she kept playing.

‘Now to get in…’ He snuck his claws under the window’s frame, wincing a bit when one nail got stuck but carefully pushed it up a notch. Thankfully, she kept playing as he made it slide up more to where he thought it’d be good enough to let him slip in.

Basil carefully brought one leg in and had to bend over as much as he could to allow his body to pass into the room, followed by his other leg and tail. He knew if he grabbed her attention…she’d probably panic and call for help.

‘Alright…just stay calm…’ He warned her and with her still concentrated on the music, he tiptoed over until he was right behind her to place his hand over her mouth and around her waist.

Fey’s eyes quickly shot open with a muffled scream as she fought against his hold but he captured her arms to make sure she didn’t lash out.

“Hey hey, I ain’t going to hurt you,” he whispered to try and get her to settle down but her tail came up to snag his throat, making him choke a bit. “A-ah, can’t…breathe…” he coughed lightly and fell onto his side with her still trapped in his hold. Fey squirmed viciously and brought one of her legs back to try and kick him.

“G-goods,” he managed to say and used his own leg to pin both of hers but she slammed her head back against his, making him whimper and release her to hold his face. Fey scrambled away from him and held her instrument as a weapon to point it at him, panting heavily.

“Who are you? Tell me now or I swear I’ll claw your eyes out,” she threatened, glaring down at him but he held up his hands in surrender with a small grin. His fiery eyes glanced up at her.

“…never…known you to be so blood thirsty…”

Fey’s eyes narrowed a bit more as she held the instrument up higher.

“If you’re here to capture me, you got another thing coming.”

“Capture…? Nah…you don’t see it…do you…?” He slowly stood, unsure if she was about to smash that thing over his head but she still seemed on edge.

“See what? I see a moron who tried to come here to snatch me or try to get lucky.”

Basil just stood there while slowly lowering his hands with a small smile, his tail swaying and ears folded back.

“…that song you played…you played it when Saei and I got sick…we were vomiting really bad…couldn’t keep anything down…but you stayed to play to help us sleep…remember…?”

With each word he spoke, Fey’s white eyes grew a bit wider as her hands shook.

“You chastised me since I always eat faster than my mouth could handle…and told me I made myself sick…but when you got sick…I said what goes around comes around. That’s what you got for talking bad to me.”

Her ears slowly stood up as her fingers loosened to drop the instrument to the floor.

“…B…Ba…sil…?” Her voice was so meek he barely heard it even with his hearing but he rubbed his neck where she had choked him.

“I never thought you’d grow up to be this…mature…? You sure can handle yourself…nearly made it so I couldn’t have offspring.”

A few tears formed in the corners of her eyes as Fey launched herself forward to barrel into the larger feral who closed his arms around her to let her openly sob. It was a good thing they were muffled due to his chest or else she would be grabbing the old caretaker’s attention.

“…I’ve finally found you…it’s okay…” he whispered and patted her head as she clung to his vest but she finally pulled back to look up at him, still in disbelief.

“…a-are…you really…?”

“Ask me anything that only Basil would know,” he suggested and she pulled away but remained close.

“…what toy did he get me for when I first arrived at his kingdom?”

“Oh that thing?” He chuckled sweetly and itched at one of his ears. “Eh…when father said a young girl would be visiting…I was a bit put off but he told me to be nice…so I made you small toy in the shape of a ball with legs and eyes…stitched and sewed by yours truly. You called it Quin…don’t know why…but gosh you were so overjoyed to get it.” Fey bit on her lower lip and hugged Basil again, much tighter this time.

“You’re fine now. We have a lot to catch up on…and got plenty of time…kay?” He rubbed her head and had her pull away at arm’s length to smile down at her. She wiped at her eyes with a small nod.

“..w-where have you been? What happened after the storm…?” Basil released her to sigh softly.

“…it’s…a really long story Fey. I’m more worried about how you’ve been doing. You alright?” He frowned and finally noticed a few bags under her eyes as well as the bandage of her head.

“W-well…” She started, looking away and unsure how to word how her life turned about but she gasped when the entire house shook, knocking her onto her rear. It sounded as if there was an explosion from outside the house and Basil quickly helped her up with her safe in his arms.

“You okay?!” He asked, hearing something outside being broken.

“Y-yeah,” she responded in a startled voice. Basil took her hand to cautiously open the door to her room but was in shock to see that the rest of the house…had been destroyed. The old lady who had opened the door to him…was laying on the broken planks…torn in half. Blood and organs poured out of her that nearly made Fey scream and run to her but Basil held her back close to him.

“We found you…”

“Found you, we did…”

The feline held hatred in eyes when he looked up from the carnage to see two young males standing just before the rubble, burnt pieces of charms floating about them. Pieces of the cat along with the dragon landed at their feet as they took a step forward in unison.

“Who the hell are you two?!” Basil demanded to know, keeping a tight hold on Fey who was quivering in pure fear. “What did you do?!”

“She was a mere nuisance.”

“A nuisance she was…that needed to be snuffed out.”

“Just how your fate will turn out.”

Basil bared his fangs with a bestial growl at them, tucking Fey against his chest when he spotted…more.

Smoke rose from behind the twins, possibly from more destruction they had caused and walking out from that smoke…was the fox Imperial. Red smoke blew out from his nostrils to mingle with the smoke around him as he stepped a bit away from the twins.

“I warned you…not to anger me…and now my pup is dead…someone needs to pay for his blood.”

After the last bout he had with the fox, Basil was feeling a bit nervous and moved so that Fey could be hidden more in his hold. The younger feline opened her eyes in terror to see that they were surrounded but felt her heart leap into her throat at seeing another figure emerging from the smoke.

The dragon Imperial who had tended to her wounds took slow steps to be amongst his comrades, his sword was already unsheathed and glowing with sickening shadows.

‘Rial?’ She wanted to speak her question aloud but the feral who saved her glanced over at her from behind his mask, his eyes unreadable.

“What will you do, little cat?”

“Surrender her…or die?” The twins asked.

There were too many…and knowing how strong one of them was…Fey didn’t even want to imagine the others. She fearfully glanced up at Basil to see something had changed. His burning eyes were filled with anger but he was smirking with excitement. He gently guided Fey behind his body and cracked his knuckles.

“Basil?” She whispered worriedly but Basil’s arms erupted into flames.

“Four on one…you guys are charming...but I’d rather give my life than to let you get your filthy hands on Fey. Bring it!”