Chapter 8: Change of Destiny

A life threatening detour in the travels and an unexpected visitor.

Chapter 8: Change of Destiny

 

            “Hmmmm…my head is pounding soooo much.” More complaining…it was the only noise they heard or had to listen to for the first hour and Sid’s eyebrow twitched as he roughly pulled his long ears down to try and silence the grumbling feline.

“It wouldn’t if you hadn’t drunken so much. I’ve been near prey that didn’t whine this much,” he muttered, looking over at Basil who rubbed at his eyes to try and gather his focus. “Here,” the hare grabbed his attention and reached into the side satchel on his saddle to toss Basil a small canteen of water. “It’ll help sober you more.”

It was a good thing he packed enough supplies…and both felines were lucky he had transportation of his own. These beasts weren’t fast as their rashein…but they could go the distance. He rode atop a bird like creature that had the stature of a normal human horse but had feathers all over its body, talons for feet…and did he forget to mention it had double the heads? It only meant the beast had to feed more due to having a larger stomach but Sid preferred them to be able to haul large amounts of goods or just to travel all day without having to stop. Basil rode on the back of his other Grioek and downed the water, sighing at the feeling of his mind calming.

“That does help,” he said and handed it back to Sid who rode side by side with him.

Like he had said, they rose early. It was still dark when they started to ride out but now the sun was high above them and it felt nice. Thankfully, nothing had interrupted their travels…but it was far too quiet. Looking back worriedly, Sid spotted the mender just a tad behind them on the rashein with her eyes lowered. She hadn’t spoken all morning…except for a simple morning.

Sid looked over to Basil who stretched his arms above his head with a yawn.

“Something is troubling our mender,” he noted but it seemed he chose the wrong choice of words since Basil glared over at him. “Our?”

“We are all riding companions now…whether you like it or not. I am showing you AND her to the Pass so she is in my company just as much as yours WHICH means she is my concern.” The feline huffed and gently slowed down the grioek he rode to turn it back toward Fey.

“You may be a gentleman but you’re being too much of one,” he told him and moved back to ride side by side with Fey while Sid chuckled and kept leading them.

The mender didn’t even notice her friend had ridden up beside her for her eyes watched the back of her steed’s mane.

“…Fey…?” Basil called out with a frown, grabbing her attention and she looked up with a regretful smile. He could tell it was forced.

“Sorry, were you speaking to me?”

“…I just got here. Everything alright? Did he say something to you to make you uncomfortable? I’ll give him a pounding if so,” he smiled, trying to lighten up her mood but Fey only returned it half-heartedly before looking forward.

“No…Sid has been nice…too teasing…but nice.”

“…alright…sooo…what is bothering you? You’re not talking as much…and we just reunited…and haven’t spent much time together since then…”

She smoothed a few of her white locks back away from her face. “It’s nothing…” Basil frowned more at her not confiding in him and pulled his mount closer to hers to place his clawed hand on her head, making her nose flush a bit. She nervously looked up at him.

“Hey…I promised to care for you, remember? I know I hadn’t after the storm…but…we’re together again. I’m going to make sure you’re happy…whatever it takes.”

A bit of warmth finally rose into her eyes as her smile seemed more honest.

“Thank you, Basil. It’s just…something I have to deal with…on my own and figure out.”

“Maybe I can help?” She shook her head lightly. “Sadly, you can’t.”

Whatever it was that was eating away at Fey, Basil knew it had to be terrible for he could see it in her eyes. Sighing softly, he forced a smile and ruffled her hair.

“Fine, you win…but now you have to promise me something.”

She tilted her head slightly. “…what’s that…?”

“When we reach Treaish, you have to promise me to show me a real smile…and I want to hear you laugh.” The blush on her face grew a tad darker as she giggled lightly.

“You want me to promise something so little? Really? Apparently, Treaish is a big thing. You could have me be an extra gambling hand for you…see people cards…teach me the ropes of being a thief…” she joked but Basil just smiled sweetly.

“…nah…not interested. I want the Fey I know to come back…the sweet Fey…the one who chastised me…the one I’m to care for,” he told her and she felt her heart skip a single beat when he grabbed the reins of his mount. “Come on and ride up here with us. We’ll poke fun at the rabbit.” He guided the grioek to catch up to Sid and sighing softly with a smile, Fey moved her rashein to do the same, taking up her place to be guarded between the two ferals.

“There she is,” Sid smiled over at her. “Thought I might have left you back at my home with how quiet you were…unless you wanted to surprise me when I got home.”

“Hey!” Basil shot him a glare and Fey couldn’t help her smile from growing. “You want me to come over there to shut you up, rabbit?”

“Hare! Are you blind or has the milk gone to your head?”

“I’m not some street cat!”

“Wouldn’t you be one technically if you are a thief living in the city?” Basil growled at him but stopped when he heard Fey…laughing. It was genuine but subtle. Sid also glanced down at her to see she had brightened a bit.

“…maybe you and I should start a comedy act, cat.”

“Like I’d work with you.”

“Oh, come now, if it wasn’t for me showing you the way, you’d be riding in circles not knowing which way was up.”

“You do know that felines can kill bunnies, right?”

“I’m not a bunny for one and secondly, I can break your jaw with just one kick.”

“But you can’t fight!”

“Nope but saying I could if I did.”

Their back and forth bickering was a relief and Fey looked up at the sky to feel a calming breeze blow past them. A few birds flew overhead, enjoying the warmth as well of this beautiful day…

The ground rumbled under the feet of their mounts, causing them to stop suddenly and whimper with a bit of nervousness. Sid quickly grabbed the reins of his grioek to calm it down while Basil did the same. Fey gasped when her rashein tried to pull away from the males but she quickly calmed it down with a pat to its neck.

“What the hell was that?” Basil asked, his ears swiveling to try and see if he could hear what caused it while Sid looked over toward a small hill to their left that was possibly…a mile or so away. His lips tightened a bit with his own ears swiveling in the direction of the hill.

“…something I really didn’t wish to see right now,” he warned them.

“What do you mean…?” Fey asked worriedly, feeling another rumble shaking the ground beneath them and she held on tight to her rashein.

A large claw came up over the hill that was twice the size of Sid and Basil combined while the rest of the gigantic creature followed. Two long horns jutted out from the sides of its head with a large muzzle that was parted to drip saliva onto the grass below. Its legs were strong and powerful with a long body and tail to make it even bigger. It parted its jaws wider to roar loudly that frightened their mounts but Sid gritted his teeth and held his steady.

“Basil! Listen!” He drew the feline’s attention with a serious look. “That thing is a wyrsuil. It’ll kill us all if we don’t hurry.”

“What?!” He exclaimed, the fur rising on his tail and ears.

“You need to take Fey and keep heading to the northeast. I’ll pull a distraction and lure it away before I meet back up with you,” he explained and checked on the beast to see it sniffing the air, apparently picking up their scent.

“Sid, you can’t!” Fey came up to him worriedly but he just smiled down at her.

“Hey, this hare has some tricks up his sleeve. They don’t call me sly for nothing. Now, get going so he can track me. If he tracks the both of you, he’ll never get off your tails,” he warned and turned his grioek toward the lumbering beast in hopes of gaining its attention.

“He’s going to get hurt,” Fey looked up to Basil with pleading eyes. “We have to help.”

Basil bit his lower lip as he watched Sid charge off toward the monster…but he saw black hair…instead of orange…and dragon scales…

This was his brother all over again…

What did he do last time…?

Sid pulled the reins harshly back on his grioek who cawed in fear at seeing the large beast slowly looking down at him with more saliva pouring from its mouth.

“HEY! Want a piece of hare meat?! See if you can catch the fastest feral alive!” He taunted and kicked at the sides of his mount to get it running at the top speed that it could just as the wyrsuil slammed its paw down where Sid stood. The weight of the beast made an impression in the ground as it started to give chase after Sid…and fast.

Fey felt her heart getting caught in her lungs out of pure fear but…she was more afraid of Sid getting hurt…or…killed…just to save them. Whimpering, she kicked at the sides of the rashein to start going after the wyrsuil.

“Fey!” Basil yelled and was quick to push his mount forward to go after her.

Unaware that his companions were chasing after the wyrsuil who was chasing after him, Sid quickly reached into his side satchel to pull out a small black sphere and tossed it back at the approaching beast. It landed in its mouth and exploded, making the creature roar out in pain to feel burns on its tongue and possibly a fallen tooth but it only made it angrier.

“Damnit all,” he whispered and pulled on the reins again to steer the beast back toward the hill where it came from. It was a steep turn and it gave time for Sid to reach in his other satchel to retrieve three sharp daggers. He skillfully threw them back at the wyrsuil, hitting it in the right eye but it didn’t even slow down the beast.

“You pesky b*****d!” He yelled and pushed his mount harder but he knew it wasn’t meant for speed. It was only a matter of time before the inevitable happened but he prayed it wouldn’t. If he could give the felines enough time to get some distance away, that’d be great. Sid tried to turn the grioek for another sharp diversion to hopefully make the beast lose his balance but Sid cried out in agony when the wyrsuil raised its paw to clip his spine…though it was more like digging its claws into his soft flesh. Sid was thrown off his mount, tumbling onto his side with whimpers of pain but glared up at the beast while his mount scurried away to a safe haven. Saliva dripped onto his knee as the monster hovered over him, its jaws slowly opening.

“…never…thought it’d…be like this…” he gritted out in pain, gasping for air when the wounds started to take a hold of him and he closed his eyes to accept his fate…but to his surprise, he heard a loud pained roar above him. Curiously opening his eyes, he was shocked to see Basil clinging onto the beast’s face with his claws that were erupting into flames to burn the eyes of the beast. It roared and stepped back to stomp the ground angrily, shaking its head to try and get rid of the nuisance but Basil hung on with his claws digging into its hide.

Sid’s jaws were parted in awe to see that the feline had…come back when he told them to leave.

“Sid!”

The hare looked over to see Fey dismounting the worried rashein and hurried over to him.

“Kitten?” He managed to breathe out, surprised to see her back as well.

“I ain’t going to chastise you for the name now but after this, no more,” she knelt beside him worriedly. “Show me your wound,” she instructed, roughly taking charge to push him over to give her his back.

“O-ouch!”

“Oh, hush and let me help,” she told him and her soft hands pressed against the open wounds to glow a brilliant white. At first, Sid winced and gritted his teeth but…slowly…he felt the wounds closing…and the pain…subsided. His brown eyes quickly checked on Basil.

The wyrsuil shook its head harder before swinging it back to send Basil into the air. Not even yelling with worry, Basil growled loudly to almost sound like a beast roaring as he twisted his body around in the air to face down at the beast. The jaws were open, ready to swallow him but the feline summoned a large amount of fire and hurled it down into its awaiting mouth. The creature roared again, lowering its head to try and extinguish the flames that tore at its throat.

“You…are…so…dead!” He yelled and landed back onto the beast’s head. Sid’s daggers were still lodged in its eye so Basil tore one out to slam it down into the creature’s skull repeatedly until it slowed and staggered. With a whine of pain, the wyrsuil slowly fell onto its side which shook the ground and tossed Basil off harshly. Dust flew up around them and to Sid’s amazement…the beast…was dead. He blinked his eyes in disbelief…since he knew them to be ferocious…but to see one dead…was truly something.

“I’ll be back,” Fey told him worriedly and left his back for now to quickly jog over to Basil who struggled to stand.

“O-o-ow…” the feline groaned as he carefully pushed on his knees to try and stand but Fey placed an arm around his shoulders to help him the rest of the way.

“You’re going to lay down here beside Sid while I take care of both of you,” she instructed without room for arguing.

Basil didn’t complain once as his friend gently helped him lay back on the grass before moving back to be behind Sid who had the worst of the injuries. “Just a bit more…” she told him, her hands returning to being warm against his skin. The hare remained silent…while looking back at her, watching as she concentrated on his injury and he felt even more of the pain pulling away from him to be bearable now…but she didn’t stop. The warmth went into his very tissue…muscle…even bone…

“…I told your friend…when he said you were a mender…that I didn’t want to use you to be healed or saved…if my destiny was to die…then I was ready…” he whispered but Fey looked down at him with a soft smile.

“You may believe in a set destiny…but if I was put in your path…it was for a reason…and I don’t think you’re meant to die today, Sid.” Her words made him become quiet as she exhaled shakily and stood after she was finished with him. “It may feel bruised for a few days but it’ll be fine,” she told him and went over to Basil next to be by his side. Not knowing what was injured, Fey placed her hands on his exposed chest to send healing wherever it was needed. Basil winced at first before relaxing to be under her care.

Sid slowly sat up, watching the two of them for a moment longer before looking around to assess their situation.

It wasn’t good.

The rashein remained like the loyal steed it was…as did Basil’s grioek…but his had scampered off…which included most of their supplies…as well as spending expenses. He sighed heavily with a groan and fell onto his back.

“…we lost one mount,” he told them bluntly. Fey looked back at him in concern as Basil started to come around. “It’ll still be fine…right?”

“Not when it had some gold for rooms at Treaish as well as food. Luckily, we still have enough to get there before we need to resupply but two of us might have to share a room,” Sid sighed and glanced over at Fey with a wink. “So, what do you say?”

The mender sent him a look that stated if he enjoyed being a male, he’d learn to button his lip. “Looks like Sid is back to normal,” she gave her back to him to check up on Basil.

“How are you feeling?” She drew her hands away to see if there was still any pain in him. He only groaned while sitting up to look down at her face.

“Me? I’m more concerned about you. You’re shaking a bit,” he frowned and laid his large claws on her cheek. The warmth he emitted made a fierce blush rise to her face but she pulled away nervously.

“J-just everything…that happened. I’m glad you two are alright.”

“A bit sore but you’ve done enough, Fey. Thank you,” Basil smiled down at her before glancing over at Sid. “You alright? You must be crazy to try and take on that thing by yourself.”

“Well, you’re even more of a fool to come back for me.”

“You would had been killed,” Fey told him with a frown. Though a wise remark surfaced in his mind, Sid refrained from teasing her and sighed.

“We still have a tiny bit more to go…three hours or so. We should get a move on.”

“Good idea,” Basil nodded and stood with an exhale, his body feeling worn. Beside him, Fey attempted to do the same but as soon as she steadied herself, her face paled and she hunched over to vomit up the entire meal from Sid’s house.

Both male ferals drew their attention to her at hearing her emptying her stomach but Basil came closer to hold her hair back.

“Sshhh…it’s alright,” he reassured in a whisper, his red eyes overflowing with worry and he gently guided her to kneel as another wave hit her. The hare felt a prick in his heart at seeing the feline who saved him in such a condition.

“She probably overexerted herself.”

“Yeah…it was an ordeal,” Basil added and moved back a bit when Fey shakily inhaled followed by wiping her mouth off.

“I…I think…I’m good now…” Her voice was soft and worn.

“Not a chance,” Sid came over to hold a hand out to Basil first who seemed confused but took it to be hauled to his feet before Sid carefully guided Fey to her feet.

“You cared for us…” His sentence trailed off for her to interpret. “There is still time left before we reach Treaish.”

The hare pointed behind the hill where the beast came from. “We’ll rest for an hour, eat what we have and bathe with a change of clothes before we move on. There are springs that are secluded enough for us and will give Fey time to recuperate.”

 

“…who caused this…?” Yhisin asked in a bit of bewilderment as his bare feet poked at the fallen wyrsuil. Blood had soaked into the grass and dirt, making it change into a deathly black, tainting the very land itself. The fox slowly came to the beast’s face to see burn marks and hummed in thought.

“…whoever it was…used fire…” he noted and plucked out a dagger from its forehead, examining it. “…what do you take of this, Rial?” He asked his comrade and glanced back at him to see that the dragon was inspecting something else other than the large and obvious beast. Curious, he left behind the massive creature to see what else he had found but slowed down to see that Rial had found a few white hairs along with…

“…vomit…” His nose wrinkled at the smell and he held his sleeve over it to try and hide the scent…but Rial’s silver eyes focused on the hairs.

“…the mender and her company were here.”

“How did you guess?” Yhisin took a step back to lower his sleeve while Rial knelt to take the hairs between his claws, obviously not bothered by the smell.

“Her scent is in this area…and these belong to her. The feline must had ended the beast.” The wind stole the hairs from his touch as he slowly stood, looking toward the hills that led into a large expansive forest beyond.

“No kidding…didn’t know the small kit had it in him…where do you think it leads?”

Rial turned his head away from the hills toward the northeast. “Treaish…most likely to rest. The mender exerted herself too much and this happened. They will be slow. We will cut them off in the city.”

“Are you sure you are not some hound? Your tracking and thinking are on point,” Yhisin praised and with a smile, headed back to his rashein to mount but noticed Rial had looked back toward the hills. “…something bothering you?”

“…no…but there is something I must take care of,” he stated and looked back to his comrade. “Head on without me, buy us a room and food. I will be but an hour behind at the most.”

Yhisin looked down at his masked face for a moment with a sigh and grabbed his reins. “…I hope one day you tell me what’s going on in that head of yours…fine…you better catch up,” the fox turned his mount around to head off toward the city with speed while Rial mounted his own rashein and headed over the hills…following the scent that was left behind.

 

 

“Ahhhhhh it feels soooooo nice,” Basil sighed as he sank more into the hot water. It felt like a deep tissue massage, hitting every aching muscle he had been using for so many odd years. He cupped some of the spring water in his hand to splash his face and smooth back his hair.

“And here I thought felines hated water,” came Sid’s voice and Basil looked up to see the hare standing at the edge of the spring, still clothed. Basil huffed and swam back a tiny bit.

“You’re not going to bathe?”

“With a cat? My reputation would be ruined,” he mocked in distaste, a hand on his chest for emphasis.

“The sooner we clean the sooner we can leave.”

“…point made,” Sid sighed and removed his outer coat to fold it neatly along with his vest. Basil already had a pile of his clothes so he placed his beside the feline’s.

“I swear if you even chuckle, I will kick you so hard in the face,” the hare tossed him a look as he undid his belt which made Basil raise an eyebrow curiously.

“Let me guess…you have a cute bunny tail?” He grinned but the look he was given only grew harsher. “Alright alright, I won’t laugh. Now who can’t take the teasing?”

Rolling his eyes, Sid removed the rest of his clothing to use his foot to scoot his pants to the side before diving in.

“Yep, a bunny tail,” he quickly said just as Sid popped his head up to shake off water from his head and laid back on the water to just relax. Both ferals grew silent, not sure what conversation to bring up but Basil sighed and slowly used his tail to help him swim backward toward a nearby rock with his eyes looking up at the sky in thought.

Fey had already bathed, threatening that if either of them looked, she’d rip out their innards so they made sure to stay far enough away. When she was finished, she wore new clothes that Sid had provided. They were big on her but she made it work by tying off the extra ends of the shirt into a knot at her side and tightened a belt around her waist. Her hair was drenched along with her tail as she dried them off, giving the males the go ahead while she told them she’d be nearby…needing time alone. He would have to get her new clothes when they reach Treaish.

“…you like her,” Sid’s blunt voice interrupted his thoughts which threw him off and he stopped swimming to stand in the water with his ears tilted back. Sid just looked over at him with a grin.

“We were practically raised together…and grew up together…of course I would like her. She’s like a sister to me.” Sid shook his head slowly and swam over to him.

“Not that type of like…she isn’t your sibling…she’s a cat…you’re a cat…” He stopped before him with his eyes growing serious.

“I’m telling you…she’s just a friend. She was…there for a me a lot…along with my brother…so it’s only right that I help her get home.”

Sid watched his expression for a second longer before smirking and moving away.

“Then you won’t mind if I ask her on an outing when we reach Treaish.” Basil’s eyes widened as he swam over to reach him, grabbing a hold of one of his ears to stop him from getting out.

“Not a chance!”

“But if she is only a friend, I have all right.”

“I said you ain’t doing it!” He grabbed his arm to pull him back roughly into the water before letting him go but stood protectively by the edge of the spring. Sid just chuckled and smoothed out the hairs on his ear.

“My point made…listen, kit…” he grew serious once more to float on his back. “Each second…each hour…each day or week…hell, even month or years…those moments slip by that you could be having with whomever you like. Who knows…? If you’ve felt this for a while…these past few days could had been spent with them.” Basil’s ears slowly fanned back with a frown as he lowered his eyes in thought.

“So, what’s stopping you? Is it because she is a mender…?”

“No…maybe slightly. I mean…if we do find her home…I’m not a mender…doubt I would stay.”

“Well if she knows about you, I’m sure she’ll work it out. Kitten seems to be caring like that. Look, she got sick because she healed us. Gods know I wouldn’t do that for others.”

“You nearly killed yourself for us…and stop calling her kitten,” he ran more water through his hair while Sid chuckled again.

“Point is…if you’re going to be afraid of every little thing…you’ll never move forward in your life. You’ll be stuck in the same rut. So, what stops you?” Basil slowed down his swimming for a moment before sighing with his eyes closed.

“…my brother,” he whispered and dove under the water to seemingly want to escape the oncoming questions but he wouldn’t be able to hold his breath forever. When he popped back up, he got what he dreaded.

“Brother? Never knew you had one. Then again, don’t know much about you guys still.”

“Step…brother. He wasn’t born from my mother.”

“Ah…so…tell me a bit more then…” Sid seemed more serious now and continued to relax on his back.

“…my brother was found on our lands…in our garden to be more exact…as just an infant. He was still a year older than me but my father took him in like he was his own and raised him…along with me. I never noticed at first. I just thought we were real blood brothers. As the years went by though…I noticed subtle changes.”

Basil opened his eyes to look up at the sky, the sun setting down over the mountains.

“…he grew larger than me…taller…scales…horns…wicked tail…we looked nothing a like…but I never questioned it for he was always my brother no matter what. We did everything together. I always got us into trouble…I was the jester…he was always serious…then Fey came along.”

Sid tilted his head a bit, growing interested by the second.

“My father grew very ill one day…so he sent out a parchment for help to the mender village. They weren’t too far way but it was still a good distance. We thought some old geezer would show…but no…it was a young gentleman who brought his daughter along. While her father went to go mend…he asked if we could watch her.”

Basil closed his eyes once more. “At first, I thought…eh, a girl hanging around with us? What a drag…but they stayed with us for at least a month at first…to make sure my father wouldn’t grow ill again and when they had to leave the first time…I was sad. I didn’t want her to go. Thankfully, they did come back to visit.”

“…so…what does this have to do with your brother stopping you?”

“When we played…Fey was like my sister. I’d make her laugh and we could rough house but sometimes I forgot she was just a girl so my brother would come to her rescue…and whenever he did…she’d get quiet and look almost mesmerized. Move a bit forward when we were young adolescents, any time he’d come to save her from my antics…now she’d blush.”

“Ah, I see…putting two and two together…she might had just been attracted to him.”

Basil ignored his comment to frown at a certain memory. “…I grew angry at him…even began to hate him. He was stronger than me…bested me in everything…it felt…like he was taking everything from me. My parents were proud of him…of course me too but at that age I didn’t think smart. He was even taking Fey away from me...so when we sparred…I broke his knee. I hated him…”

Sid frowned a bit, not knowing that his traveling companion had such a jumbled past but Basil sighed and rested his hands on his stomach.

“…after that day…we never spoke…we passed each other…but he didn’t speak nor did I. When Fey had to leave one last time…I was alone. That winter…when Fey came back to visit, she was only there for a day when we were attacked. I don’t know who it was…but…my family was killed…and my brother saved Fey…like always…but he gave his life for us so that we could escape.”

“…so…your brother is gone…?”

“Yes...I never got to tell him that I was sorry…or that…no matter how much we fight…he’s still my brother.”

“…not to pull you away from it…but…if he is no longer living…how does that stop you from Fey?”

“Even with him gone, I think she still has a soft spot,” he admitted while standing in the water to go to the edge to sit.

“…you just need to make her forget. When you went back to talk to her on our travels, she blushed.”

“…she did?”

“…oh, good heavens, you are dense,” Sid sighed and came over to him with a smile. “Even from where I was, I saw that she was nervous.”

“…but that’s not a good thing.”

“It is when it comes to females. I’ve been to Treaish enough to know how they work. It’s like…a game to them.”

“A game?”

“Yes, now ol’ Sid is going to give you the instructions on this wicked game,” he hauled himself out to sit on the bank with him. “So, let’s give you a scenario…say you’re talking to Fey and she starts getting all shy. What do you do?”

“…I’d probably give her space,” he answered but yelped when Sid flicked his ear.

“Wrong! That doesn’t show interest. She pulls away, you gotta follow. Now, for the next tip…”

 

Of all the times to not have her instrument…

Being alone with peace and quiet surely did help but to calm her nerves down more, she was in the mood to play. With a soft sigh, Fey gently ran her clawed fingers through her wet hair to untangle the ends while sitting on a stump that had a few mushrooms growing near the bottom. Her tail curled around her hips to glance over in the direction where her companions were still bathing. She felt terrible for stopping their trip like this…when they were so close.

Frowning, Fey sighed and started to hum softly and brushed off excess water from her ears. If she couldn’t have a physical instrument to play, she’d imagined one in her head…

The string played a soft tune…joined in shortly later by a sweet-sounding flute…and maybe a little beat from a drum. A soft smile replaced her frown as she closed her eyes and started to sing to the beat. No words were spoken but her gentle voice moved along with the music. It was calming…and she didn’t want it to stop…

“You are defenseless…” came a deep voice from behind her. Fey’s face paled as she quickly stood to whirl around to face her foe but felt her heart stop to see who it was.

‘…Imperial Rial…?!’

Reviews

[Petar Oklobdzija]

I accidentally clicked and found myself on the last chapter, but i read it nevertheless. Wonderful dialogue and an interesting feel to this world you've created, i will definitely start to work my way from the beginning. keep going!