by Nicole Field
At this, Dain'la smiled. "You're strong, Lettie. You've let Klimeau, me, and Helva into your life with more determination than most people have for a single relationship." Dain'la plucked a wayward flowering weed and brought the yellow bloom to her nose. "It is a valid choice if you do not wish to be Shae's parent with us, but she is part of your life now. A part of all our lives."
Tying her braid off, Letycja sighed. "You're right as usual, love. I'll… I'll try harder to be there for her. For all of you. I just… I don't know what to do, sometimes."
"I think," said Dain'la in a quiet voice, "the five of us should spend more time together in the evenings. We haven't done a wheel in ages, or played Keeper's Stones." She stroked Letycja's cheek and kissed her on her forehead. "It'd be good for all of us."
Letycja hummed, shifting her basket from one arm to the other. "I have been too focused on this apprenticeship. It will be good to relax. Together." Taking Dain'la's hand in hers, Letycja kissed her knuckles. "I'll scrounge up some smooth stones for a game tonight."
*~*~*
The healer, a harried man named Fethon, squeaked in relief when Letycja walked through the door. "Thank goodness! Pitre passed out again when several hunters came in in need of stitching. Please, help me?"
Letycja put the basket of herbs aside and nodded. Pitre was Fethon's other apprentice, but they had an unfortunate tendency to faint or vomit at the sight of blood. They were sprawled on the floor in a corner, where it looked like Fethon had shoved them out of the way.
Two of the hunters were stitched up, but two more waited, applying pressure to their wounds. Fethon walked Letycja through the steps while he patched up one. Her fingers trembled slightly, mostly because the hunter's face was screwed up in pain as she slid the needle through. Fethon began one of his infamous tirades, berating the hunters for getting hurt in the first place.
"We couldn't outrun a rhinocerbear, let alone three," one hunter said. The claw marks on her arm were sealed and Letycja was bandaging them up for good measure.
"Feh! Rhinocerbears never come this far north," Fethon said, lashing his tail. "Too many trees and hills. Twas probably a tailless bear-beaver."
"You should look south of town!" a younger hunter said. "You can see where they've been knocking down small trees. It's like a road is being cleared."
Letycja's head snapped up; their home was south of town.
"Why didn't you climb one of the big trees, then?" Fethon asked, correcting Letycja on the knot she was tying.
"We had to warn everyone," the first hunter said. She gingerly folded her arms. "And for your information, Steph stayed behind in a great oak so the rhinocerbears wouldn't follow."
In the corner, Pitre stirred, then asked, "Rhinocerbears…? Aren't they extremely violent? And strong?" They sat up, and avoided looking near the injured catfolk. "Sorry, Master Fethon. For… you know."
Fethon snorted, washing his hands of blood.
Helping Pitre up, Letycja asked, "Do we need to worry about the rhinocerbears reaching Barakiv?"
"Doubt it," Fethon said, toweling off. "They're from the plains. It would be a miracle if they've come this far north. Even if they did, they'd be confined to the bottoms of the ravines."
"They charged us from the crest of a hill," the first hunter said, voice dry.
Pitre fluttered their hands, white fur puffing in fear. "Has anyone informed the guards?" At that moment, a dull flash of light emanated from the surroundings. "What was…?"
"The magic wards," Letycja said, leaping at the washbasin. She scrubbed her hands clean. "Something malicious passed the barrier, probably the rhinobears. The guards know now."
"Where are you going?" Fethon asked.
Drying her hands on her skirts, Letycja dashed to the door. "The school! They should know what's going on."
*~*~*
Klimeau pricked his ears up, setting the pen aside.
"What was that light?" the furrier asked, wrestling an armload of woolly-deer skins onto a shelf.
"I don't know, but nothing good," Klimeau said, easing off his stool. "Hopefully… hopefully not New Gevdinian soldiers. I'm going to check on Shae and the other children."
The furrier's shop was near the school, so Klimeau descended the steps before Letycja. Sami, in a sunny gown with embroidered flowers, was in the midst of explaining what a magical ward was. "And it was Klimeau's partner who showed us how to cast the wards," he said, gesturing to Klimeau, who was circling the room to where Shae and Murdag sat.
"You alright, Shae, Murdie?" Klimeau asked, putting his hand on the back of Shae's chair. Shae nodded and Murdag chirped a greeting.
Letycja arrived, stumbling down the steps. "Mr. Sami? Is there somewhere safe for the children?"
Sami took in the spots of blood on her skirt and clapped his hands. "Alright, everyone! We're going to go visit Mayor Phana's estate. Sound like fun?" He cheerfully led the children away, glancing back at Klimeau and Letycja once in worry.
Shae hung back, Murdag at her side. "Are we going to run away? Like when you took me?"
Murdag gasped. "You stole Shae?"
Letycja shook her head to both questions. "It's just some animals. You should go with Mr. Sami, Shae."
*~*~*
South of Barakiv, Helva had dropped xer sickle and hurried to the house, all the while mentally berating xerself for not wearing xer armor. Over the ridge came a guttural roar, followed by the sound of a spell shield blocking something heavy.
"Helva?" Dain'la called from the same area. "I could really use some help!"
There wasn't time for xer full set of plate mail, so Helva snatched xer breastplate and helmet and called it good. Unsheathing xer sword, xie ran to the edge and looked down. Leaning heavily on a fallen tree, Dain'la had her staff raised, a barrier surrounding her. Two enormous shaggy grey beasts slashed at her with their claws.
Helva stared at the horn rising from the snout and the armored plates hidden beneath thick fur. "Never thought I'd see these," xie said, sliding down the ravine, a wake of loose dirt trickling past xer. As one rhinocerbear raised its paw, Helva parried the blow, throwing the creature off balance.
As it stumbled, the other roared and thrust its horn at Helva. Leaping, Helva grabbed the horn and swung xerself around its head. Xie slashed at its legs, then sides, but the fur and thick skin protected it from harm.
"Uh oh," xie said, throwing xerself to the side as the first rhinocerbear charged.
"I thought these were plains animals!" Dain'la shouted, congealing the air around the charging creature. Its charge became a crawl, albeit an angry crawl. Helva swung xer sword against its flanks, then jabbed at its belly. Other than shearing some fur off, the rhinocerbear was unscathed.
"Well, shit," Helva said, backing off as the not-slowed animal swung at xer. "Their hide is too thick!"
Dain'la was backing up the hill, concentrating on casting her slowing spell. "I don't think I can hold it much longer," she said, teeth gritted.
With xer uncanny speed, Helva leapt over the slowed beast while the other charged at xer. It rammed its horn into its fellow and the two stumbled down the hill. Helva scuttled away, narrowly avoiding being crushed.
Releasing the rhinocerbear, Dain'la panted, eyes darting, looking for an opening. "Helva, behind me!" she said, waving her staff in the air. When Helva was behind her and the creatures were untangling themselves, Dain'la cast the voiding spell on the earth before them. It was a pitfall trap the catfolk had taught her; it would appear to be regular ground, but vanish once stepped upon.
Sweat trickled down her back as she concentrated on casting it a second time, enlarging the pit. When the beasts charged up the ravine at them, the one in the lead fell into the hole with a surprised yelp. The other one stepped on its comrade and butted its head against a young oak tree.
The oak fell with a crash, bringing a rain of twigs and leaves down around them. Bursting from the foliage, the rhinocerbear swung its head at the two. Helva shoved Dain'la a
way, and used xer sword to absorb the hit. Xie was thrown to the side with the force, then tumbled down part of the hill.
Gasping for breath, Dain'la cast the pitfall trap again, but only managed a small hole. She cringed as it roared and ran at her, but it tripped, one of its feet falling through the trap. The other rhinocerbear was trying to claw its way out of the pit without success.
Helva jumped on the back of the tripped beast and slashed at its furry ears. Blood arced with the trajectory of xer sword, and the creature roared, bucking xer from its back. Xie hit the ground hard, the breath whooshing from xer lungs.
Dain'la scrambled to xer side. "I'm nearly spent. I think I can handle cantrips, but that's it," she said, helping Helva up. Helva struggled to take a breath, and only managed a wheeze in response. Dain'la eyed the rhinobear, doing a mental inventory of the illusory tricks she knew. "Does anything eat rhinocerbears?" she asked, tugging Helva behind a tree before it could catch a glimpse of them.
"Roc-croc?" Helva said, voice hoarse.
Dain'la glanced around the trunk of the tree; the beast had gotten its leg out of the pit and was standing tall, roaring at its surroundings. A fleeting memory surfaced of a terrifying day over a hundred years prior when she had heard the terrible screech of the roc-croc. Dain'la had instinctually thrown herself from her horse as it reared. A second later, massive scaled talons closed around her horse and bore it away.
While flying off, the roc-croc had closed its toothy jaws around the horse, gulping it down as the horse let out one last terrified shriek. Dain'la closed her eyes and willed herself to hear the call of the roc-croc again. Pointing her staff at the top of the ravine, she set off the bone curdling scream from afar.
Please work, she prayed.
Helva and Dain'la peered around the trunk. The rhinobear had frozen, ear pricked up and trembling. Licking her lips, Dain'la aimed the sound slightly closer to the beast, cringing along with Helva at the noise.
The rhinocerbears panicked. The free one galloped down the slope, ignoring the trees in its way. Saplings crumpled under its hooved back feet. In the pit, the trapped creature scrabbled at the sides in terror, great clumps of dirt crumbling under its front paws. Heaving itself out, it took off after its companion.
Dain'la collapsed against the tree in relief, a surprised laugh escaping her lips. Helva leaned against her, giggling with the after-battle elation.
"It's not funny," Dain'la said between gasping laughs.
"No, but it was fun," Helva said, clutching Dain'la's arm to stay standing. Xer giggles wouldn't stop. They held each other, shaking with laughter, the adrenaline rush alleviating with each chortling fit.
"Dain'la?! Helva?!" The two looked at each other in surprise, then they ascended the ridge and emerged at the edge of their field. Letycja cried out at the sight of them and threw her arms around both of their legs to the best of her ability. Klimeau jogged past the three, noting Dain'la and Helva's entwined hands on the way.
"They're heading south," he said, watching the treetops tremble with the departing stampede. "How did you two manage that?"
"Dain made pits and was able to scare them off with the call of a roc-croc," Helva said, beaming. "It was fantastic!"
Dain'la shrugged, hiding a pleased smile. "It was just a cantrip. I can throw voices I've heard around…"
"She sent the two running for their lives," Helva said.
Letycja let go of them. "Two? I thought there were three," she said, worry etching her face with lines.
"There were," said a voice. From the shade of the trees emerged a catfolk with mottled fur that had blended in with the surroundings. "I was able to trap one in a very deep pit." They cocked their head. "Are my companions alright?"
Letycja remembered the hunters saying they had left behind Steph in a tree. "Yes, they're all patched up. So you're Steph? That was quite brave to act as a decoy. Are you hurt?"
Steph shook their head, shrugging. "I climbed the tree before they could get me. Like I said, I was able to get one, but the others continued north." They frowned, shoving their hands into their pockets. "There… there isn't actually a roc-croc out here, is there?"
Dain'la exhaled a thanks to her gods for giving her the chance to have heard a roc-croc in person. If she hadn't, the magicked noise probably would have only enraged the rhinocerbears further. "Thankfully no."
"You should get back to town. Your friends are worried about you," Letycja said. "And they're probably being lectured by Fethon."
"Well, you know who to call for if you ever need someone to run up a tree," Steph said, waving.
*~*~*
Summer was in full swing by the time the first harvest of snap peas was picked. Between farming and side jobs, Dain'la and Helva fortified the defenses of their domicile. With Eudora's help, Dain'la modified her warding spell to intermingle with the pitfall trap spell. The entire ravine surrounding Barakiv and their plot of land was lined in a magical trench that would manifest if any with malicious intent passed the border.
Helva, for xer part, strung trip wires between trees, leaving them loose. Xie showed the guards where they were and how to quickly make them taut in case a threat made it past the ward-pits. On calm days, Helva and Dain'la would walk to Barakiv together, arm in arm, to watch Shae and Murdag deface the entire village.
Mr. Sami had taught the children a course in practical application skills. Shae learned to knit with needles—she enthusiastically filled their home with dozens of scarves—learned to fix a squeaky hinge, clean a jackalope, tan hides, create a simple salve, and mix her own paints. Shae and Murdag immediately descended upon the sides of buildings. Then the other children joined in. Fingerprints and hand marks decorated the bottom halves of most buildings in a radius around the Hut of Learning.
Most catfolk took it in stride, but a few came to Klimeau and voiced their displeasure with his daughter. Others came to Klimeau with their own paint and brushes to offer to Shae. Her mandalas were as intricate as ever, and soon even the people previously unhappy with the plague of vandalism showed off their walls with brilliantly painted bursts of colors and patterns.
Splitting her time between farming and healing, Letycja began compiling a journal of flora and its properties. While writing in it at night beside the fireplace, she had Shae sound out the words and repeat their benefits and detriments. Sitting close, Shae picked paint out from under her fingernails while watching Letycja's pen bob along with the words. Or Letycja would lean against Helva and simply watch Shae knit beside Klimeau when he took off his hook for cleaning, a smile playing on her lips.
With his rib finally healed, Klimeau joined Dain'la and Helva in their patrols. They sparred as practice, and before long the village guards came together teaching the three their catfolk way of fighting. In turn, Klimeau and Helva showed them how they were taught to fight in Gevdin, while Dain'la interjected with insight from what she knew of the dark elves' hand to hand combat.
*~*~*
"You've had dinner with Murdie's family three nights in a row," Letycja said. She was walking Shae home from school, an empty basket swinging from her arm. "We want to see you, too, you know."
"N'fair," Shae said, kicking at the dirt.
"When I was your age, I loved having dinner with my family. It was very special for us all to be together at one time," Letycja said.
"S'different," Shae said.
"Hey, now. Enunciate your words. How is that so different?"
Shae sighed, picked up a stick and began tapping it on the path before her along with her steps. "Different… circle stances," she said, nodding in satisfaction.
Hiding a snort of laughter, Letycja conceded. "It's circumstances, dear. You're right, but we still want to spend time with you."
Tapping as they went, Shae mouthed 'circumstances' to herself. From behind them, the clink of metal armor sounded. Letycja turned to greet Helva, but instead stared into the eyes of an armed soldier.
Specifically, the eyes of the New Gevdin
ian Captain, Yvonne. Her armor had been pounded back into shape since their last encounter, and her surprise melted away to quick business. As her intent changed, a dull flash of light emanated from every tree around them, and several meters off a trench formed. Before Letycja could run, Captain Yvonne got a hold on her.
"So it is you!" she said, glancing in the direction of Shae.
Shae stood frozen, her eyes wide.
"Letycja, right?" Yvonne asked, tone casual despite her grip on the smaller woman.
Letycja shrieked and hit the captain with her empty basket. Snorting, Captain Yvonne swung Letycja around, so her arms were pinned behind her back. Taking a deep breath, Yvonne let out a shrill whistle in a complicated pattern. Several seconds later, two replies called out, not far away.
Only after their replies sounded did Yvonne speak again. "Major Brant was your master, right? He'd like you back; can't seem to find another servant half as good at making meat pies."
Shae had clapped her hands over her ears with her eyes shut tight. Letycja felt a pang at the sight, remembering how Shae had done the same when their group had confronted her mother.
Clinking footsteps marked the arrival of the captain's soldiers. One tied Letycja's hands behind her back, and the other did the same with Shae. Instantly, Shae began wriggling, trying to get away from the soldier until he hefted her over his back.
Captain Yvonne marched her soldiers off the path and along the pitfall trench. "It's funny, the catfolk said they'd never seen you pass through. I suppose that was a lie. You settled here? With the others?"
Heart fluttering in panic, Letycja said nothing, her eyes fixed on Shae. The girl was crying, eyes squeezed so hard, the tears were barely leaking out. Shae's hands opened and clenched repeatedly behind her back, desperate to cover her ears again.
Yvonne raised an eyebrow. "You've grown close to the girl?" Letycja shot Yvonne a terrified look. "Relax, I won't hurt her. Her poor mother is sick with worry. Nasty how you tricked her into thinking the girl is a changeling."
"Not!" Shae screamed, thrashing her limbs. "Lies!"
Captain Yvonne ignored her. "We were going to give up our search back there," she said, frowning at Letycja. She shook her head. "But when we heard you kidnapped the girl, well… we changed our plans, decided to keep up the search until we reached the mountains."