So, it seems that Berith at least isn’t the one who hurt Alakath. He was somehow cornered by Judah and Jonah and pummeled to the brink of death. Apparently, Berith ran them off before they could finish him off. Alakath’s been touch and go all day, so we haven’t been able to visit him. Nor have we been able to see Starlight, since she’s in the same room and they don’t want to risk our presence causing complications with Alakath’s recovery.
The docs have said that Starlight should be clear to leave tomorrow, though. They said that we need to ensure she takes it easy, though, as the wounds will reopen yet again if she’s too active. Gladia asked if we took it slow, could she make a trip to Drayden’s Burrow. The main doc, a Doctor Lindsey, said that as long as we kept our pace to under eight miles a day, she should be fine, but she advised against it, saying it would be better to allow her to completely rest up before making such a trip.
Once the docs finished telling us what was going on, Gladia and myself decided it would be a good idea to go out and freshen up a bit while we waited, so we went to the public bath. It was early enough in the morning to where it wasn’t crowded and we took the opportunity to relax our muscles in the warm water for a bit. She asked a lot of questions about my personal history while we were there. I answered them as honestly as I could, especially given that she had poured out her soul to me and I hadn’t told her shit about myself.
She had me laughing at one point, when she asked how I managed to stay so chubby despite being as active as I am and with the sparse diet I find myself on most of the time. I don’t think she’s been around very many bunnies, or she’d realize I’m actually pretty small for a bunny of my age, aside from the girls. A lot of the male bunnies here like teasing me about being “petite”, which I am in comparison to other bunnies, so I don’t let it bother me.
I tried explaining that to her, and she couldn’t stop giggling. I guess I can understand why, though. Compared to most females of other species, I’m far from being small. Short, maybe, but not small or petite. She said that I must get a lot of attention and I nodded. I explained that was part of the dilemma of Starlight and myself when it comes to staying here for long.
She looked confused about that, so I explained the situation we were in involving General LeBaptiste and Jonah. She just looked in disbelief as I described the lengths they had gone to try and apprehend us. She asked if Jonah had bought off the local law and I nodded. I think she finally fully understood why I was so hesitant yesterday to come back here. She said that she would keep us safe while we slowly traveled to Drayden’s Burrow starting as soon as Starlight was released. I told her I appreciated it, but we should work with each other to keep all of us safe. She smiled and nodded at that.
We kept chatting as we finished washing up and dried off. As soon as we were redressed, we stopped by a stand selling some biscuits and got a couple for ourselves and one for Starlight. We slowly made our way back to the hospital, still just chatting about whatever came to either of our minds. We were almost there when I saw someone I knew was trouble.
Standing with his back against a wall looking towards the hospital entrance was a tall, muscular black panther. The same one that was with the General when he had his way with me before. As soon as I saw him I shoved Gladia into a nearby alleyway. She looked confused at first until I told her about the General’s thug. I peeked around the corner to point him out to her when I noticed a bandage barely visible under his right sleeve. It seems someone got the better of him recently, but I didn’t want to find out if his apparent injury hindered him or not. I assume not since he’s still prowling about.
She said that, depending on the injury, she could probably take him if needed. I agreed, but I told her it was probably best if we didn’t try. The last thing we needed was to get into anything that would draw attention to us. She nodded and said that we probably should wait about elsewhere, at least until he was gone. I nodded and suggested maybe we could check on Johan, who I had talked about earlier in regards to Jonah burning his shop down, and I figured I knew where to find him.
We traversed the back alleyways towards the tavern, which is where I figured he would be, since he would likely be looking for Alakath for news on what’s going on. We made it without too much trouble, though the growing crowds close to the bath and tavern made staying discreet difficult. That being said, I never saw anyone that spelled trouble, so in we went.
Sure enough, Johan was sitting in a back corner facing the door. As soon as he saw us, his eyes went wide and he quickly gestured for us to come to him. We quickly did so and sat down, facing away from the door in hopes that should trouble walk in, I wouldn’t be recognized.
As I expected, he asked what we were doing there, to which I quickly explained what all happened and introduced him to Gladia. There was an awkward silence there for a bit, as each of them stared at each other, as if they recognized each other from somewhere. I asked what was their problem when Gladia spoke up.
She said that Johan was the family friend she had told me about. I think my confused expression was obvious to her, then I stammered out, asking how old SHE was. Johan has been a shopkeeper here most my life, so if her story is straight, then she can’t be as young as she looks. Plus, I thought Johan had came straight here after escaping the massacre of his clan.
Johan put his hand up before she answered. He said that he had raised her and her brother while he was still with the Snowtail clan. King Snowtail had arranged a trading agreement with Drayden’s Burrow and had assigned Johan to carry it out. So, he would spend a week or two in the town and a week or two back with the clan, taking the two pups with him. It was the warriors of the clan that taught them the basics of their sword and shield technique.
I asked how he came to be a friend of their family, and Johan said that Gladia’s parents offered to let him stay with them while he was in town after a few trips, once they realized he was sleeping outside on the cold, wet, often times snowy ground. Over the course of the next several months, he began doing favors for them and they did some for him as well. Soon they basically saw him as one of their own. In fact, he had arrived with a tunic specially crafted for Gladia’s mom just after the thugs killed her parents.
It was then that he took Gladia and her brother under his wing, bringing them with him on his travels to and from the town. That lasted several years, until Drayden’s Burrow was dragged into conflict with the Vanja clan and conscripted all of the men and women between the ages of 15 and 18, which both Gladia and her brother had to go to. It was during this conflict that the Bruumweild massacred the Starlight clan.
Gladia asked why he came here and not to Drayden’s Burrow. He said because once the king here found out what happened, he immediately offered Johan a shop and residence here. He attempted to get word sent to her and her brother, but he never received any kind of word saying that she had received his letters. Gladia began to tear up here. She asked if he recalled what he had said in the letters, because after her brother read the first one, he chucked it into a fire and immediately burned the rest without reading them.
He sighed and said that he basically said in those letters what he just told us. Unless he took it as him abandoning them, he didn’t understand why her brother would do that. Gladia sighed and said, barely above a whisper, that that’s what her brother had said. He said he didn’t want to hurt her by letting her read them. Johan sighed, then smiled and said that it was good to see that she was safe. He then asked about her brother. She just sighed and dropped her head.
I spoke up and said that he was killed by Vanja while they were exploring the jungle between here and Drayden’s Burrow. He sighed, nodded, then apologized for asking. She just mouthed that it was okay. I rubbed her back, knowing it was still a very sore thing for her.
I was still trying to puzzle how old she was. While she looked like she was maybe 18, her and Johan’s story put her at almost 30. 25 at the youngest! Neither said how old she was when she was conscripted nor how long that lasted. I just knew that Johan’s clan was massacred almost 10 years ago.
My musing was interrupted by a crash coming from the front of the tavern. I couldn’t help but turn around to face the commotion. A shark, either Judah or Jonah, had walked in and the bartender had came to the other side of the bar and smashed a tray over his face. Although it didn’t seem to stun him, the barkeep was looking in my direction. I knew what she wanted us to do.
I grabbed Gladia and pulled her with me towards the back door. Judah’s attention was still on the pretty bargirl as we slipped out the back. Johan had also gotten up, but he went towards the front. I hope he doesn’t do what I think he is going to.
Either way, we couldn’t stick around for very long, as I felt the shark, whichever one it was, was going to pursue us. I led Gladia through the alleyways all the way to the western wall, where me and Starlight had attempted to rest a couple of nights ago when Alakath got caught in the wall. It took neither of us very long to get up to the top of the tower, where I felt we would be safe for a spell.
Once we were up top, we laid low and rested for a bit. I knew we were in kind of a pickle though. The sun was starting to set, and we were exhausted. I could see the hospital from there, and the panther was still there. I swore he hadn’t moved an inch, although I could make out that he was nibbling on some kind of bread. It unnerved me at how he possibly knew that either Alakath or Starlight was there.
Gladia said that we should probably stay up here for tonight. We had a good vantage point, and anyone who was looking for us wouldn’t likely know to look up here. She was right about that, but my chief concern wasn’t us. It was Starlight and Alakath. I was worried that they weren’t safe in the hospital, especially if either Jonah or Judah were aware they were there. The General’s thug being there made me wonder if he knew, and worse, if he had told the sharks they were there.
Even if he had, though, there was nothing we could do that wouldn’t get us killed. The two of us couldn’t take on one of them by themselves, much less the two of them. No one in this shithole, save Berith, would stand a chance against the two of them together, and I doubt even he would attempt to take them on unless he had no other choice.
For as long as there was daylight, I watched where the panther was posted. He didn’t budge, at least, not while I could see him. Eventually, it got too dark for me to see him, and by the time a guard patrol had passed by his spot, he had disappeared. This made me really nervous. I glanced over at Gladia and she was passed out. I looked towards the hospital.
There were a few torches lit out front and a few rooms were lit inside, but for the most part it was completely dark. I couldn’t stop myself from slowly climbing down the battlement and sneaking over to the hospital myself. I stopped across the street from the entrance.
Just a few yards in front of where I was hiding, the panther was crouched behind one of the massive torches, watching the entrance of the hospital. Despite being right next to the torch, his dark fur made it difficult to spot him. His yellow eyes were all that I could see of him. That is, until he lifted his paw in front of the torch, and motioned for me to come over.
I hesitated, in case there was someone else that I couldn’t see. He motioned again, and quietly said “Come here, Rabbit.” I’m sure he heard my gulp as I slowly made my way over to him. As I got close, he patted the ground beside him, and told me to sit down next to him. My breathing was starting to become rapid. I knew at that point, he knew I was at least nervous. Probably knew I was about to piss my pants.
He said I was brave coming there, knowing who was after me. He put his finger over my mouth before I could say anything in response. He paused for a bit, I guess convinced I wasn’t going to say anything, before saying that he knew why I was here. He covered my entire mouth when I let out a gasp and made it difficult for me to breathe. He growled that I needed to stay quiet, or he’d bash my skull in.
After another pause, he said that he knew Alakath was in there on the verge of dying. He said that he also knew that “the fox” was in there, but he wasn’t concerned with her. The General no longer had interest in her, and as such neither did the sharks, since the pay the General had offered for her was no longer on the table.
He said that while he had a score to settle with Alakath, he was a man of honor, and as such he wanted to wait on him to fully recover. The sharks, on the other hand, wouldn’t shy away from taking advantage of his injuries and kill him in the hospital. He was watching to ensure that didn’t happen.
He then said, that if I wanted “the dog” to stay safe, I would meet him at the General’s mansion come sunrise. He said he knew we were up on top of the battlement, and that she would have to come down at some point. If I didn’t meet him, he would ensure that “pretty face of hers was no longer so.” He also said for me not to go back up there. He would know if I did, and he would climb up there and kill us both.
He then told me to leave, and to meet him at the front gate to the General’s manor. He said “much is at stake, far more than you know.” I gulped at that. I hated how cryptic that was, but at that point, he gestured for me to leave. And that I did.
After several minutes of hiding behind a crate, my heart finally stopped racing. I sat there and cried for a few minutes. Once the tears finally ceased, I thought about my options. I really only had two I could consider, since I wasn’t going to put Gladia in any more danger. I decided to hang out by the bath for the night, since there was always a guard patrol there, and there was enough light should I need it for anything.
It’s almost daybreak now. I need to decide. Do I go to the manor like he instructed, knowing that the General wanted me as his next slave? Or do I disobey, and put myself and Gladia in even more danger? I don’t know yet, but I’ll make my way in that direction and decide on the move.