Chapter 6: Sid the Hare

Finding shelter in a storm is difficult and learning more about the past

Chapter 6: Sid the Hare

 

            “Seems like your wish finally came true…though it would had been better under different circumstances,” stated Yhisin who sighed and shook his hair free of the rain water. The storm hadn’t let up for the last hour or so…and there was no sun in sight. The water was cold and raised bumps to the surface of the skin but this was Yhisin’s element so it didn’t bother him any. He was more concerned for his riding companion. Peeking over at Rial, the dragon was a bit more bundled but not overly so, just with an extra cape over his shoulders.

“…you said you wanted to travel, right? What all have you seen? Where have you been?”

“…I have mostly seen the towns in the north…from Castle Phayr to the Lake of Misomar.”

“That is a bit of a distance away…so you never ventured south to the warm forests? How come you did? If you don’t mind me asking.”

Rial lowered his head a bit, his mask hiding his features as well as painful memories.

“…I had no choice in the matter.”

“Slave?”

“…no…” He raised his head to shake off the excess water. “We should find shelter…the mender and feline cannot travel in this weather.”

“Yeah…probably right. They have to be colder than us,” Yhisin noted since they were supplied and ready to travel great distances until they found their prize. It was still odd though…that there had been no signs of both Yuon and Luon when they returned to the king’s stables to retrieve their own Rasheins. No guard had seen or heard from them.

Both Imperials thought they would had captured the girl by now and returned…but when they found out they hadn’t…it was a slight weight off their shoulders.

It was plainly obvious as well that both felines had left the sanctuary of the city for near the entrance, Rial found the Rashein to be gone…and small white hairs were left drenched on the ground. Yhisin had questioned a few ferals who lived near the entrance if they saw anything and did confirm their suspicions…they saw a male and female cat leaving some time ago.

What they also said made Rial’s eyes narrow.

They spoke of this bright light…that felt warm…engulfing everything…before it vanished.

He was uncertain what this meant…but it did not bode well with him.

“So…where do you believe them to be heading?” Yhisin broke his thoughts, his fox ears flicking when he felt more drops of rain falling. The storm only got worse with lightning streaking across the sky angrily.

 His friend stood quiet for a moment as he gently directed his Rashein away from the open fields and veered toward the safety of a nearby forest range.

“Estyuin,” he answered but it wasn’t something Yhisin expected which showed on his surprised face.

“…the mender village? Thought it was just a myth…”

“…if there is a mender, it’s only reasonable that she came from somewhere.”

“So, you believe this village still exists?”

“Does…but is hidden,” he added.

“…if it’s hidden…how is she to find it?”

“How do you know where your home was?” Rial asked, glancing over to the fox who hummed at his point. “Point made…so…we find her before she finds this village?”

“…yes…for if she reaches it before us, we have lost our chance.”

“How so?” Yhisin held his warm but soaked robe closer when both Imperials managed to seek shelter under the canopy of trees.

“The village is hidden within a mirage…no other being can see or enter besides a mender.”

The fox huffed at their luck and dismounted his steed to tie it off on a nearby tree. “Figures…oh well, we can travel faster in this weather. A short break, food in our bellies and we will continue. I’ll go look for some suitable dry wood,” he offered and shrugged off his wet robe to let it dry on a branch before walking away while bringing out his pipe to help warm up his body. Rial watched him leave, dismounting as well and tying off his Rashein.

His claws brushed off some water from its hide, the steed snorting in thanks. With a soft sigh, the Imperial looked back out toward the fields with a hint of worry within his silver eyes, seeing a large bolt of lightning strike the ground to leave behind a mark.

 

Fey had grown worse…

She was frail…weak…only just barely breathing…and cold. Basil did what he could for her…the best that he knew how to and frowned to see her still in the same state. She had yet to open her eyes and was shivering terribly due to the cold. The storm didn’t help either…

Shivering slightly himself, Basil looked away from her for a moment to assess their camp site. It wasn’t big…for…they didn’t have a lot. The only supplies in the stupid satchel the Imperial left was one wool blanket, food for only two days if it was just her, and a book that appeared old and worn, not to mention along with the map.

It was obvious the Imperial only expected her to be traveling and not him…but she needed the food more than himself so he didn’t touch it…even though his stomach roared at the sight and smell. Bringing his hands up to his mouth, he blew hot air onto them and rubbed them together to try and stay warm. Fey was placed next to the bustling fire with the wool blanket wrapped around her…but she was still terrible.

The feline was still confused on what happened…

Fey was a mender…they were meant to heal…but could she just…expel energy like that? It was quite a lot…even when he burst in the fox’s face, it was only a small amount of fire. Fey’s light though…was on a much grander scale.

She could had been worn out from that…it was the only option.

His eyes held worry though when his ears heard soft and weak coughing. Looking over at Fey, the small feline held her claws to her mouth to harshly cough into them before inhaling with a soft wheeze. She couldn’t stay like this for long.

She needed to get warmer.

With a soft sigh, Basil stood to walk over to where she lay and took up a place behind her.

“…if you wake up…don’t even think I am trying anything,” he teased to try and make his own mood better as he removed his small vest that felt tight due to it being soaked to now be shirtless before her but he remained still.

“…come on, Basil…you’ve been with a handful of girls…” He felt his cheeks grow warmer as he carefully moved Fey to have her back to the fire and he laid down beside her, using his arm as a pillow.

 Gulping nervously that she would react to a sudden touch with a swift kick to his lowers, Basil gingerly placed his lean arm around her waist to guide her to be propped up on the crook of his arm which gave her plenty of warmth from his skin. Thankfully, she didn’t lash out in her unconsciousness…but come to think of it…he’d much rather have that…then to see Fey trying to keep her breathing steady. Basil pulled the wool blanket up to her chin, not worrying for himself and wound his tail around hers to even keep the tiniest parts of her from the cold storm.

“…you’ll get better…we’re both tired…” he whispered to her, watching her for a small moment longer before he finally felt the weight of the battle and running setting in. Being hungry was only adding to his fatigue. Yawning silently and snapping his jaws shut, Basil tightened his hold on her to close his eyes to try and get some much-needed rest with hopes that when he’d wake…Fey would be herself again.

 

“Hope this is enough wood,” Yhisin smiled and dropped a few small logs down into the stone pit Rial had gathered as well as prepared for him.

“It should be. We’ll rest for only three hours before we head on our way,” the dragon Imperial suggested and knowing the fox was more water based, he parted his lips to breathe out a small spark of shadow magic that made the logs ignite instantly.

“Sure is pleasant having you around,” Yhisin took a seat near the warm flames and grabbed their satchels to bring out some dried meat. It wouldn’t be a large meal but they could always hunt later if they needed to. The fox tossed his comrade the same amount he gave himself who sat across from him, tail curled near the fire.

Silence fell between the two as each took a small bite of the meat but it was clear on Yhisin’s face that he seemed conflicted about something. Rial swallowed and looked over at him.

“…something ailing you?”

“Not really…just thinking.”

“About? If we are to be partners…we must be able to fight together…which means knowing each other like the back of your own weapon,” Rial told him and he meant it. Despite being an Imperial, Yhisin was a good feral friend that kept him company over these years. The fox just smiled at the kind words and leaned back a bit to look up at the drenched canopy, the rain still falling to only hit them slightly but not a full downpour.

“…we always fought together…served together…but…we never talked about who we were to each other…and I wouldn’t want to bore you with mine.”

“It is not as if we have anything else to do in the meantime,” Rial took another small bite from the meat as a flame sparked with a crackle.

“…guess you’re right. Well…not sure where to start. I told you I came from the forests, Tyual Forest to be exact. It’s about a week’s ride from here to the east. It’s nice and warm, a few rain showers but nothing to worry about with flooding. There’s a lot of ferals that live there, mostly woodland ones that can adapt…and we lived in peace with humans as well.” Rial looked over at him curiously at his last words.

“Peaceful?”

“Yeah, there was a human village near our forest and we often traded goods with them. We foraged and they made the goods. It was a kinship. We didn’t mind them and they didn’t mind us…” His voice grew quieter the more he talked as he took the last bits of meat into his mouth to swallow, licking his lips.

“…I’m sensing something is about to change.” Rial could see it all over his face.

“One day, it was my turn to deliver the grain we had farmed along with some nuts and berries to the human village. A long haul and though I’ve been there countless of times to deliver, this time was different. After exchanging our goods for money and other supplies, I was about to leave when I spotted a small stall that stood out on its own selling trinkets for luck. A human girl was the seller but she had no customers and looked a bit sad that she wouldn’t be making a profit that day. I had my own money, not taking from what belonged to the other ferals, so I went over to buy a small trinket from her,” a soft smile came over his face as he reached into a side pouch on his hip to pull out a cutely made fox charm that had a small string attached to it so that it could be tied to clothing or hung up.

“I asked her why she made charms in the shape of ferals…why not humans…? She laughed at me,” his smile grew wider and Rial rested his sword to the side to keep listening. “She said ferals stood for something…each individual represented a certain aspect of life. So…I followed up with what a fox stood for…since I was one. The cheeky girl said foxes were mischievous and devious. Of course, she was kidding and told me foxes were good luck that if one crossed your path, it meant good fortune for your day. Do you know how I felt when she told me that?” He looked over at Rial for a second before gazing back down at the charm.

“…from that day forward, even if it wasn’t my turn to go to the village…I’d bring that girl good luck just by stopping by her shop…whether to chit chat…or just stand there to have a smoke. A year passed…and one day…she wasn’t at her shop. I asked around to find out she had grown sick due to a bad storm and was bedridden. I went to visit her, feeling terrible that I wasn’t the good luck charm that I thought I was. I made up some herbal medicine for her to take…and before she fell back to sleep…she said…I was still…her luck charm.”

“That was sweet of the girl,” Rial noted, finishing his own small meal, and knew he could devour more but moved a log to make the flames spread out more.

“She had a way with words. When she got better, that same summer, I asked for her hand.” Rial tilted his head with a bit of amazement. “…you wed a human?”

“Yeah, we looked odd and stood out,” he chuckled while bringing out his pipe to put some mint in. “But how could I not? I had fallen for the sweet girl, feral or not. Doesn’t matter. To convenience her, I moved to the human village but still delivered between both of our towns.”

“A settled life. How did you wind up under the king then?” Rial knew this part of the story would be coming up eventually but Yhisin’s smile lowered and he placed the charm back into his pouch. “…well…after about three years…when I had three pups tugging on my tails…the king arrived with his armies…viciously asserting himself…stealing our hard-earned work…burning the houses of those who tried to fight back. I wouldn’t stand for it. I hid my kits and wife to go out and meet the king head-on. What he didn’t know…was that I was the most powerful feral in Tyual Forest and he was going to know it. I cut down many of his men in cold blood before going after him…but what I had not seen…was some of his men found my family and held them hostage. I had to stop…and was brutally beaten.”

Rial frowned slightly at hearing his friend’s story and remained quiet to allow him time to finish.

“…I’d have to bow to the king…serve him…and my family would be safe. I caved…and became an Imperial for him…pouring fear into other ferals without my desire to…my own kind…just to save my own kin. On one mission, I failed…and my eldest son…and wife…were slaughtered.”

“…you have my condolences, Yhisin.”

The fox exhaled deeply and looked down at his pipe in thought. “…now Mitsu had passed…I only have my youngest pup now…who is caged in that b*****d of a king’s castle. He was only an infant when I became an Imperial. I couldn’t even watch him grow. I truly do regret I must capture this innocent mender…but for my son’s sake…I must…” He swayed his tails and took a small inhale of his pipe to calm himself. “So now you know Yhisin. So…now explain yourself. Why are you an Imperial?”

Rial glanced away from the fires for a moment.

“…not to mention I have never seen under that mask,” Yhisin added.

Closing his silver eyes, Rial slowly laid down before the fire and used his sword hilt as the best pillow he could.

“…the boy I was before being put under the king’s heel…is dead. I am an Imperial now,” he bluntly stated but Yhisin didn’t seem too pleased about the response and huffed out smoke.

“…whoever you were is never truly dead…mostly suppressed. I know what you mean but surely there is something out there that keeps that young boy alive within the man?” The dragon slowly opened his eyes to watch the dancing flames.

“I have cut ties with the part of myself a long time ago…”

Yhisin sighed with a roll of his eyes. “So broody…I will get you to talk about it one day over a nice mug,” he snuffed out his pipe to lay down by the fire as well. “Let’s get some sleep,” he told him and yawned before closing his eyes to luckily use his plush tails as both a pillow and blanket. Rial looked to the flames once more, exhaling deeply and closed his eyes to try and rest his weary mind.

 

For once…the sleep was wonderful…and not once did he wake up. If anything, it was a short cat nap, possibly two hours or so just to rest his eyes but Basil felt himself wanting to wake due to the amount of hunger he felt.

He groaned lazily and stretched his arms out above his head to yawn loudly, forgetting that Fey was still beside him. It seemed during the cold rain she had moved even closer to his warmth to now be pressing her face against his chest which he didn’t notice at first. He was still doing his morning rituals of waking up. He ran his claws through his hair and cracked his sore shoulders. Surely, he slept on them wrong. His ears twitched until his eyes finally looked down to have his face flush heavily at his predicament. It was a good thing that her hoarse breathing had stopped…but with her so close…

‘This is no time to panic, Basil!’ He told himself and gently removed her arms from his person to slowly stand. The fire behind her had gone and the sounds of the storm had stopped. It might be best if they start moving on to…who knew where but since she was still sleeping…he’d let her for now. He moved over to their satchel to see what he could cook up for her but he gasped in horror to see that…all their food was missing.

“What?!” He yelled and turned the satchel upside down. The book and map fell out but there was no trace that there was even meat. It was here when they fell asleep…

Did…something…or someone take it…?

“No one steals from a thief!” His eyes narrowed as he dropped the satchel to see if there was some sort of trail that was left behind by the culprit. He would stay close to their campsite for Fey’s sake but his hunger was getting to him. His heavy steps crushed twigs and leaves under him to create a ruckus but he gasped when he stepped on a small pile of leaves to have a rope snag his ankle, hauling him upside down toward a nearby branch. He dangled helplessly and tried to cut himself free with his claws but his ears heard a noise approaching him.

“My trap went off? Good! Wonder what I caught?” It was manly in nature and Basil twisted his head a bit to try and see who was the culprit of this deed. Emerging from the trees was a tall feral with a soft face but manly features. It didn’t seem he had seen the likes of fighting with how clean cut he was. He had short orange hair that looked almost like some sort of mane that raced down to the base of his neck and two long rabbit ears sat on top of his head. Wearing a clean low-cut shirt and black overcoat, the feral raised an eyebrow at seeing Basil hanging upside down in his trap. Both looked confused.

“…what a waste of a trap,” the feral sighed in annoyance, his brown eyes closing with his hands on his hips.

“Waste?! Get me down from here,” Basil demanded but the rabbit opened his eyes to look over at him.

“…why?”

“Because the blood is starting to rush to my head now bring me down, damnit!” He kicked at the rope around his ankle and the rabbit sighed once more. “…you’re annoying,” he bluntly said and walked over to untie his trap from its hold, sending Basil plummeting into the leaves below. He spat out a piece before standing to confront the feral.

“Who are you and what are you doing here?”

The rabbit raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms over his chest. “That should be my question. Who are you, kit?”

“I’m not some small kitten, you rabbit.” The stranger’s eyebrow twitched as he pointed to the long ears.

“Hare…not rabbit…big difference.”

“Eh, same thing. You’re the one who trapped me so explain yourself.”

“…so whiny…” the hare shifted to lean on his right leg, growing uninterested. “…fine…you’re camping in my backyard…which means my territory…which means everything in MY territory…is mine…including that delicious food you had.”

“Wait…” Basil’s eyes slowly widened. “You’re the thief?!”

“I prefer the term scavenger. You are on my land after all,” he shrugged. “The name is Sid,” he smirked. “...now you.” Though Basil really wanted to lay it on this feral for stealing Fey’s food, he did his best to control his temper for if he could appeal to Sid, maybe he had a home they could stay at until Fey felt better. Biting back a growl, Basil fixed his hair.

“…Basil…”

“Now that the pleasantries are out of the way, a good day to you,” Sid turned to leave him behind but he quickly stopped him by running up to him. “Wait!” The hare stopped to see what it was the other feral wanted who seemed to have an honest look in his eyes.

“…I have a young female with me. She’s a bit sick and tired. We haven’t had food for some time but I’m more concerned for her.”

Sid listened for a moment. “…where did you two come from?”

“…inside Hulei City.” He wanted to remain honest. It would be the only chance they had. He watched as Sid seemed to think it over for a moment before his shoulders drooped heavily and his ears lowered.

“…I’ll put on some tea…bring the girl and get her into my guest room. You cause any trouble for me and I’ll kick you out,” he warned and motioned with his head in the direction he was heading. “My house is right over there. You’ll be able to see the chimney smoke so can’t miss it.”

“Thank you. I appreciate it,” Basil smiled at things possibly taking the turn for the better and quickly left to go back to Fey while Sid waited until he left to place his face into his palm.

“What a way to spoil my day…”

 

It wasn’t too far back to their campsite and there was a sense of relief around Basil. Fey could have a nice comfortable bed to regain her strength and hopefully this Sid feral could whip them up a good meal. Smiling, Basil entered their campsite to see it the same way as he left it.

“We have a place to stay, Fey,” he told her and carefully placed the map and book back into the satchel to sling it over his shoulder. The smaller feline only moaned softly when he knelt to pick her up into his arms. “You can have some nice tea and a real meal.” He was probably more excited than she would be if she were awake. He used his tail to untie the Rashein from the tree and led the elk back toward where Sid told him to go. Hopefully, the Imperials would be thrown off their tail…if they were even still chasing them but he had a deep suspicion that they still were.

Basil spotted the rope trap that had snared him and kicked it out of frustration but kept walking to see that Sid wasn’t lying. Up ahead was a small cozy home that was halfway into the side of a hill…not surprised…being a hare that his home would be a hole. A chimney filtered out through the top, smoke rising into the sky and even from where he stood, he could smell the sweet scent of tea brewing along with food. His mouth salivated and he hurried along to tie up the Rashein outside before knocking politely on the front wooden door.

“Come in!” Sid called and Basil pushed open the door. The scents wafted into his nose a bit too strongly and his stomach roared in agony.

“Don’t think you’re eating ALL of my food storage,” the hare stood by his metal stove, placing tea leaves and mint into a boiling pot before glancing back at him.

“We just needed a place to stay until she gets better,” he motioned down to Fey but couldn’t help but try and peek to see what Sid was cooking. Curiously, the hare came over to look down at Fey.

“…hmmm…she looks ill…” he noticed and pointed to a small room where the door was propped open. “She can rest in there. I have soup made for her. If she is ill, she can’t be having large amounts of food. Soup will help along with some herbs.”

“We’re really grateful,” Basil gave him a small nod and took Fey into the room. It had a small window to let in some light and a wooden dresser. The bed had a blanket of fur on it which would keep her warm and hopefully break the fever. He used his tail to pull down the covers and slipped her under.

“There…now you can rest with ease,” he whispered with a smile and took off the satchel to place it by her bed side before heading back out to try and persuade Sid to give him some of the food.

“So…a feral living on their own…?” He took a small glance around the house. It was very…small…unlike his large castle home.

“Is that so odd to see?” Sid responded and reached up high to retrieve a wooden bowl and poured some of the soup into it along with fried meat.

“Well…mostly you see them together…a bit rare that you’re living out here alone,” he shrugged and Sid motioned for him to sit at his table, placing the bowl before him with a spoon.

“I’m not one for company…you’re lucky you had the girl with you…or else I ppprrrooobbaaabbbllyyy wouldn’t had let some random cat into the house of a hare. I am a gentleman, not a rest house for those who can’t provide for themselves.”

Made sense…most of the ferals in the city HAD to live together to help one another since the lifestyle was so harsh but now that they were outside…seeing more comfortable lives shouldn’t be an oddity. Basil looked down at the bowl and licked his lips to see a decent meal for once in a few days instead of just snacking on fruit. He needed meat.

Taking the spoon between his claws, he took a small sip of the broth and openly moaned at the taste with his ears quivering before taking another quick one. Sid chuckled and went back to the oven to grab a few small cups. “That good? How barbaric are you to not have a nice soup available to you?” With the tea done, Sid poured them both a cup before returning to Basil to offer him one. The feline stopped eating for a moment to lick his lips.

“You’ve…never seen the inside of the city…have you?”

“Hulei? Nope. I’m not a city fellow. That bad?” He asked while taking a small sip of the tea but when Basil lowered his eyes back to his soup, he got his answer. “So, you and your mate are traveling?”

Basil was in mid-swallow but choked on the broth at the question, having to pound on his chest to help it go down. “M-mate?”

“Yes? The young feline you carried…when you two were snoozing while I stole your food, you were terribly close. I almost felt bad for my crimes…until I heard your loud snoring.” A soft blush came over Basil’s face as he huffed and took a small piece of meat between his fangs.

“S-she’s an old friend.”

“Oh?” Sid sat his cup down with a sly smirk. “So, she is alone then? As repayment for housing you here, I can court her.”

“Absolutely not!” Basil’s body reacted on its own, standing up to slam his hands down on the table, shaking both cups a bit and made his broth create waves. The hare hid a laugh behind his hand at the reaction he caused. “You are easy to rile up. I’m kidding.”

Basil hid a growl behind his teeth and sat back down to slowly finish his soup, trying to forget how upset he got at the idea.

“…so where are you two heading? You can’t live here forever.”

“Really don’t know. All I know is we have to get far away from Hulei as we can,” he answered and took a small sip of the tea. “This is really good,” he complimented.

“…it’s just regular tea with herbs I find. I’m stocked full of them,” the hare told him and looked back to his cabinets. “But you said as far away as you can? You in trouble?” The feline sent him a look that read that even though they were sharing a conversation over a meal, they had only just met and couldn’t be trusted. Sid huffed and leaned back in his chair.

“I am a hare…what damage could I do? Let me guess…you murdered someone and are on the run?”

“Far from it,” Basil started and glanced over to the room where Fey rested. “Her name is Fey…and I’ll tell you if you promise to keep it between us.”

“Is she secretly the murderer?”

“No!” Basil couldn’t believe how obnoxious this feral was but sighed heavily. “…have you…heard of menders?” Sid raised an eyebrow. “…yeah. They can heal the wounded, cure the sick…rumors say they died out a few years back. No one has seen one since. Why?”

Basil just motioned with his head toward the room before looking back to Sid who put two and two together.

“Ah…well that is a surprise…”

“Don’t even think about using her,” Basil warned with narrowed eyes but Sid huffed. “Why would I? If I’m wounded, I’ll accept my fate. I don’t play with destiny like that. If it’s meant to be then it’s your time. You are truly protective for being an old friend,” Sid noted and stood from the table to make Basil glare at his back as the hare opened a new cupboard to bring out a tall but thin bottle of red liquid.

“She will be resting for possibly the rest of the day…why don’t we share a drink until she wakes? In the morning, I’ll guide you guys to the Northern Pass if you are traveling that way.”