by Candy Crum
"Big boy! You're almost big enough for Corrine to ride now. Actually, you may already be. If you keep growing like this, I'll have to alternate trips between the two of you," she said.
Snow came over and nuzzled Dante's face with her own. She purred and groaned with love as she continued to snuggle him, and then started to bathe his face.
Arryn heard a squeaking sound. Turning, she went to the cart and flung back the tarp that protected the newly forged swords from the elements. Each was tied together and secured to the cart, so they didn't move. In the very corner of the cart was a topless, solid oak box. Arryn placed her hands inside and pulled free a snow-white rabbit.
"Well, who's this? Don't tell me you have a third familiar," Elysia said with wide eyes. Arryn thought that she was joking until she turned and saw the expression on her face.
It was unheard of for a druid to have more than one familiar unless their previous one had died, but Arryn had two. Elysia obviously didn't doubt her ability to possibly have three.
Arryn laughed. "No, no. Though, we did build quite a bond on the mountain. This is Wiggles Von Puffybritches."
Elysia looked at her with obvious confusion. "Did you just say…"
Cathillian nodded in an exaggerated fashion. "Yes. Yes, she did. And let me just say, that is a different name than she has given the last five people who've asked."
Dante stepped forward and sniffed the rabbit before giving him a lick. She could feel the recognition coming through the bond. He recognized the rabbit and even wanted to play with him. Suddenly, Arryn felt terrible for the tiger cub. He might have the body of a full-grown predator, but he was still a baby at heart.
Christopher wandered over, all smiles as he locked eyes on his daughter. "You're back! I'm so happy to see both of you safe. Who's your friend?"
Elysia and Cathillian both laughed. Cathillian held out his hand. "Yes, Arryn, do tell him. Who’s your friend?"
"Oh, well, I'm so glad you asked. This is Whiskers Hopskitoosh."
Cathillian looked at her with nothing shy of shock on his face. "Hopskitoosh? You can’t be serious. Now, I know you’re screwing with us."
She cradled the rabbit even closer. "Twitchy Jigglybum, don't you dare let him make you feel bad about your names."
Cathillian threw his arms in the air with exasperation. "I don't know how you do it. It took me days to come up with a name for Echo, and I chose it because her screams ‘echo’ through the woods. That’s the equivalent of my grandfather choosing to name Zobig ‘Grumbles’. Here you are, naming every animal you find something new, and they all have a hundred different names each."
She shrugged. "I'm just talented, I guess. Don't be jealous. Also, I call him Grumbles all the time. He’s a very grumpy beast."
Arryn handed the rabbit over to her father, watching the smile spread across his face as he gently rubbed his ears.
"Aw, you're such a cute little thing, aren't you, Higglebottom Whiskerface?" Christopher said.
Arryn laughed. "Ha! That must be where I get it from!"
Christopher laughed as he focused back in on the rabbit. "You got your looks from your mama, but you got your wit from your daddy."
"Then which one of you is it that carried the gene that was destined to hate me and pick on me all the time?" Cathillian asked.
With another laugh, Christopher said, "Well, I would say that’s probably me, too. I just haven't gotten to know you very well yet. But there's time."
Cathillian waved his hands in the air with sarcasm. "Yay." He quirked a smile at the man.
Arryn walked to the cart and grabbed a bundle of swords that had been separated from the rest. She carried them over to her father and extended her hands. "Look what I found."
His eyes widened as he looked from the swords to his daughter. "Seriously? Where did you find these?"
Arryn smiled. "After we fled, and I guess after you were captured, Celine watched the house, taking care of it and making sure nothing happened to it. As a result, everything inside is almost exactly the same. Even mom's painting of all of us was still there. It's not now; I had it taken out, in case anyone decided to go in there. Once Celine was gone, there wasn't anyone to watch it, and there were break-ins by Adrien's horrible daughter Talia. She killed a couple people there—at least one that I know of—so I didn't want to risk anyone harming it. Anyway, I figured you might want these back."
He sat the rabbit down on the ground, giving him one last scratch before standing and accepting the gift. Each sword was of a different style, and was used for a different style of fighting. They were modeled after some of the battle swords the new ancients, and even some of the old ancients, had used.
One was a katana; his favorite. Her mother had commissioned it specifically for him after a friend of his found an actual relic on a dig in a mine. Well, he had purchased it for quite a lot of money from the rearick who had found it.
"Thank you, Arryn. This means the world to me. Just having something personal from my old life in my hands again is indescribable. It reminds me of my life with you and your mother before anything bad happened."
She smiled, taking a step forward and wrapping her arms around him. "Tell me, have you thought about training?"
She stepped away to judge his expression, and was surprised to see a spark that hadn't been there before. He used to be a great swordsman, and she knew he could be again, with a little work.
"Only if I can train with you," he said.
She smiled. "I thought you'd never ask."
They turned and began to walk back toward the village. Snow helped Arryn and Chaos with the cart, and then Cathillian helped her unload everything and gather the warriors to show them what they had received.
Once everything was settled and the weapons were all put away and ready for when they would need them, the group gathered in around the fire as they always did. Once again, Corrine sat next to the Chieftain on the ground, only now she was able to use Dante as a pillow as he laid next to his mother.
Arryn sat between her father and her aunt, Cathillian having gone to fetch a pitcher of wine.
"Alexander?" Corrine said. The Chieftain looked down at her with a smile on his face. "You never told us how you found Zobig. I'd like to hear about how you met him and bonded with him. Also, why he's such a grump."
Everyone began to laugh at her last comment, knowing it was true. Zobig truly was a big grump, but he was also a sweetheart. Arryn couldn't help but notice that he and Snow had been on much friendlier terms since the dark druid attack, and imagined it was because they had been forced to work together.
"Hmm," the Chieftain said, stroking the end of his long hair. "I believe I can do something like that. It really is quite an amusing story, and the reason why he's such a grump is because I just happened to stumble upon the grumpiest black bear in the entire forest."
The bear grumbled, thumping his back foot against the Chieftain's chair. The Chieftain saw it coming, both out of habit from his familiar, as well as through the bond.
Everyone laughed, and he adjusted his chair and cleared his throat.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
After Alaric had left the Dark Forest for the crimes against their people, Alexander spent several days mourning his friend. He felt his loss on a deep level, even though he knew Alaric’s absence was necessary for everyone’s safety. His old friend had to go, but that didn't mean Alexander didn't feel regret, even if Alaric’s actions were not his own.
To relax, he decided to go hunting. The meat had run out, and everyone had been so busy building that no one had gone for a hunt, and all they'd had to eat for a couple of days was fruit and vegetables.
That desperately needed to change. Alexander offered to do it himself, so he could take the time to be alone and not have to worry about prying eyes. Everyone seemed to worry so much for him, but he didn't want them to. He would be fine once he had processed everything.
Over time, his ability to speak to animals had gotten stronger,
but he was still unable to bring larger animals to him—especially if they were very far away. Because of that, he still had to hunt the old-fashioned way: with a bow. But he didn't mind. It made him feel more connected to nature somehow.
Every step he made was incredibly light, as he was mindful of the twigs and dead leaves on the ground. If he did manage to find a target, he didn't want to scare it off. The woods had been home to many animals, but since the arrival of Alexander and his people, the forest had grown much thicker and animals had begun to move in from other less impacted parts of the forest.
After an hour or so, he had wandered quite a distance away from the barrier, but even further out, he saw exactly what he was after. Slowly, quietly, he crept closer to the large buck, kneeling as he pulled his bow from his shoulder, and nocked an arrow.
He took steady aim. When he loosed, though, the light wind affected his shot, causing him to hit the deer in the side of his neck.
The moment it struck, Alexander knew his mistake; he hadn't considered the wind, as his mind had been too cluttered to focus. He took an unclean shot, and now the deer was fleeing for its life.
Alexander jumped to his feet, running as quickly as he could manage. He had already made the initial mistake; he certainly didn't want to make another by causing the deer to suffer as it died—or worse, hit him in a non-vital area, and leave the deer be doomed to live with his injury.
It took several minutes to track the deer, and even longer to find him, but when he did, the buck was lying on the ground, breathing heavily. He looked weak, and guilt overrode Alexander’s common sense. In a rush to end the deer’s suffering, he approached too quickly.
Sensing danger, the deer jumped to his feet and kicked backward, his hooves smashing Alexander directly in the face. The Chieftain felt several bones crunch as he was thrown back into a tree, hit his head hard, and fell to the ground. Blood ran down his face, some of it getting into his eyes and burning them mercilessly.
He felt weak and dizzy, and he could hardly see anything, only adding to his fear and sense of urgency. He tried to move, but was unable. He was in a state between consciousness and unconsciousness. Just before his eyes fluttered closed, he saw the deer stumble and fall to the ground, and heard a loud roar echo through the immediate area.
Sometime later—he couldn't be sure just how long—his eyes began to lighten, and he was able to open them again. As he came around and started to remember what had happened, he was immediately greeted with the sound of loud sniffing. It sounded almost like a large dog, only a hundred times bigger.
Slowly, he cracked open his right eye. He saw a large black bear, straddling him, sniffing his face and chest and down to his stomach before making his way back up again, and it took everything he had not to jerk.
Instinct begged him to flop over onto his stomach, get his feet underneath him, and take off running as fast as possible. Logic, however, told him that he was injured, and even if he wasn't, there was no way he could outrun a bear.
A low grumble emanated from the bear, and Alexander looked up, both eyes open, to see the animal’s eyes locked on his. As he saw the bear realize he was awake, fear seized him and removed all desire to move or even breathe.
For several long moments, the fact that he was a magic user completely slipped his mind. When he remembered, it still did no good. Trying to calm his magic only caused his throbbing head to throb even harder; his weakness was exacerbated at the small attempt.
The bear grumbled again as he lowered his face to Alexander’s, his wet nose touching the Chieftain’s cheek as he sniffed him.
The bear grumbled, and somehow Alexander was able to feel the bear’s irritation. He wondered if the bear had been hunting that deer. If so, he could understand why the bear would be so angry with him. Despite this, he began to feel at ease, sensing the bear was more annoyed than angry.
After another grumble, and a movement that almost looked like an exasperated shake of his head, the bear backed away, walking toward the deer. Alexander closed his eyes and pursed his lips. He wanted so badly to yell at the bear to leave him his kill, especially given how badly he had been injured in acquiring it, but he had more sense than that.
Just before the bear grabbed hold of the deer's neck, he looked back at Alexander. He got the sensation the bear was gloating as he made off with his kill.
"I should've gone fishing at the river," Alexander groaned, lying back.
***
The Chieftain took a few drinks of his wine as Zobig grumbled next to him. He didn't seem to care much for being made to look like the bad guy, though he enjoyed being the grumpy old man in the animal kingdom.
Zoe had jumped at the chance to use her abilities to create a visual, allowing everyone to see the story as if they were really there. While the Chieftain had never thought much about mental magic, he enjoyed everyone seeing his stories even more than he enjoyed telling them.
"He took that deer to be a dick, didn't he?" Arryn asked. She turned her gaze from the Chieftain to the bear. "Zobig, don't lie. You did, didn't you?"
He grumbled as he rolled over on his back, wiggling side to side as he rolled around. It was quite cute, and Arryn could sense his amusement; that had been exactly why he had done it. She shook her head and laughed.
"That's just him. That's always been him," the Chieftain said as he reached out and scratched the bear’s belly. "It was a few days before I saw him again. I'll never forget that day. The Arcadians had come to the Dark Forest."
***
Once again, it was time to go hunting, but Alexander had learned his lesson: never again would he go alone. He took several men and headed back out to the forest.
The area directly around the barrier was the most densely populated with wildlife, but it was mostly squirrels, birds, and other small rodents. The larger animals wandered all over, and the deer were still hard to find.
The druids had been out for quite some time when a loud, pain-filled roar filled the forest.
"What the hell was that?" one asked.
Alexander recognized the sound almost immediately. Fear washed over him as something flashed through his mind. His mind began to show images of a different part of the forest. There were men everywhere. He was looking back and forth, spears being thrust at him.
But when he blinked and shook his head, he was still standing with his men where he had been only moments before.
Andy, one of his men, grabbed hold of his arm and shook him. "Are you okay?"
The Chieftain didn't bother responding. He ran toward the sound when, yet another pain-filled roar filled the air. His fellow druids quickly followed him, their weapons drawn as soon as they saw men in the distance.
"Are those Arcadians?" Andy asked.
"Yeah! And they caught a bear!" Deni, a female warrior said.
"No one hurts the bear. I know him," Alexander ordered.
Andy and Deni both questioned him, but he didn't answer as he continued to run.
As soon as he was within reach, he threw out his right arm, and a vine burst from the ground, wrapping around the arms of one of the guards thrusting a spear at the bear. Alexander moved his arm downward, and the guard’s hands were violently pulled toward the ground, causing the guard to fall flat on his face.
The bear lunged forward, grabbed the guard’s head in his large, powerful jaws, and clamped down. Alexander could hear the disgusting crunch even from where he stood.
The Arcadian guards rushed forward, attacking Alexander and his warriors. They were relatively matched in combat, but the warriors still trained longer every day, and did not have the arrogance that Adrien had instilled in his men. Arrogance made for easier targets.
One of them thrust a spear at Alexander, but he easily dodged it, kicking his leg up and over the long weapon to pin it at an angle. As expected, the Arcadian reached out for him. Alexander grabbed hold of the man's hand and yanked him closer, thrusting the knee that had previously held the spear into his opponent�
�s ribs before punching him in the face and taking him down to the ground. With a quick twist of the neck, Alexander ended the man's life and moved on to the next.
After taking a punch to the face, his second opponent landed on the ground and threw his hands up, quickly backing away. "Please, let us go. We’ll leave now and won't cause any more trouble."
Alexander heard three more men hit the ground, and he looked over to see his warriors ready to deal the final blows to their opponents. He turned back to face the man on the ground as gurgled screams echoed through the area.
"I'll let you live. Take your dead, put them in the cart that I know you have waiting not far from here for the resources you planned to steal from our land, and take them back to Adrien. Let him know I am not one to be messed with. I will not be tested. Please tell him if another Arcadian steps within the bounds of the Dark Forest, I will take it as a declaration of war. You just saw how easily we were able to take you down; don't think we couldn't do it again," he warned, his voice icy.
The man nodded wildly, his eyes wide as he quickly jumped up and grabbed the nearest fallen Arcadian, dragging the body back to the cart.
Alexander made his way over to the bear, moving slowly as he knelt next to the large steel trap he saw gripping the creature’s leg. He pulled the metal jaws apart, seeing fresh blood and even bone as the bear pulled his leg free.
Without hesitation, Alexander reached out and pushed warmth through the bear, setting his bones and pulling the skin back together. The Chieftain stood and smiled at the bear as it regarded him with caution.
Once again, the bear grumbled. Then he bumped his massive shoulder into Alexander hard enough to knock him off balance. He landed hard on the ground, but something about the bear amused him, and he couldn't help but laugh.