Chapter 3
The cool night air pierced my habit, making me shiver. My footpaws made barely a sound as the passed over the damp ground, my satchel slowly bouncing up and down upon my shoulder. As the trees flew by me, the glowing orb that was the moon slowly rose on the midnight sky, lighting the path before me, leading me on my way. I had no idea which way the vermin had gone with my brother, and I really didn't care; I just wanted him back. When I had run far enough that I couldn't see the abbey anymore, I stopped, leaning against a tree trunk, placing the sword next to me. I slung the bag on the ground, pulling the drawstring loose. I reached inside, taking out the set of clothes that I had snatched from the otter family. Pulling my belongings behind the tree, I quickly went to work, pulling off my habit and replacing it with the somewhat worn shirt and pants that I had in paw. The shirt fell on rather nicely after I put my arms through, but the hole in the pants was too small to fit my tail through. I took the dagger out of the bag and carefully went to work slicing away at the hole until it looked sizable, then placing the blade down on the ground beside me. I tried once more, slipping my footpaws into the pant legs and pulling it up until I had gotten that huge brush of a tail through. It was a rather tight fit, but it worked. I reached over to grab the dagger that I had taken from the armory, and looped the strap that was attached to it around my tail, making sure that it was hidden well by my fur and could be easily reached in a tight spot.
After I was set, I closed the satchel and threw it over my shoulder, grabbing the sword, and heading off down the path again. I had to make it as far as I possibly could before I stopped. If I didn't, who knew how far away those vile beasts would be when I woke up? It didn't matter right now whether I got sufficient sleep or not, I just needed to carry on. As the leaves crumpled beneath my footpaws, my mind began to wander. Images started popping into my thoughts, disturbing images, ones of what they were doing to my brother. I shook my head, trying to get rid of the pictures that had managed to make their way into my mind, but they kept coming back, pelting me with scenes that were even more sick and disgusting than the ones that came before it. I finally stopped, knowing that I couldn't go on any longer in this state, and turned to face the nearest tree, first making sure that it had thick branches, then leaped at the side of it, grabbing on as I made contact. I began to pull myself up. Seeing as I had never done this before, I was rather bad at it and slipped several times, though I was too determined at the time to care. Once I had made it into the upper branches of the tree, I hung the bag up beside where I stopped, and went about making the area comfortable with as many soft leaves as I could find. I'd have to sleep up here, so it'd have to be something that I could deal with. The leaves slowly piled up, growing taller and taller as my preoccupied mind repeated the steps again and again. By the time I realized what I was doing, I had way too many for there to be any room, so I quickly brushed some of them off with my paw, then pulled one of the blankets out of the bag. After wrapping it around myself, I plopped myself down upon the newly furnished area.
My eyes wandered up to the stars above me, their twinkling light reminding me of the beacon of light that had only recently burst into my life. Jen's eyes seemed to hover above me, haunting me in a way as I rolled over and made an attempt to fall asleep. It was useless. My mind was just filled with too many thoughts for me to be able to rest. I turned to face the stars once more, and just like before his eyes seemed to float there, watching me. But this time they seemed different--they felt friendlier, more forgiving. I closed my eyes and let out a gentle sigh, glad that I could finally get what I had avoided for so long. Sleep. I let unconsciousness roll over me, finally allowing those thoughts that lingered on the edge of my mind to rear themselves into full view. My dreams that night were dark, haunting, and yet strangely calming. Even so, I was glad to finally wake up in the earliest morning light. The leaves above me gently beat together as a light breeze ran through the air. The scent of sweet flowers and ripe fruits fluttered over into my nose. And as I lay there, enjoying the beautiful dawn, I realized two things. First off, I was on a mission to rescue my brother; and second, someone was stealing my food. I lifted my head to see a tiny grey squirrel rummaging through my bag, and picking out the fruits.
"Hey!" I cried as I leapt at him. The sound startled him, but not enough to make him drop the food, and I watched in dismay as he hopped off carrying my only food. I carefully made my way over to the satchel to make sure nothing else was missing. The other blanket and the flask of water were fine, and Martin's sword still hung next to me on another branch. I looked around but couldn't make out any fruit trees at all. After gathering my stuff I slowly but surely made my way down from the tree. Once at ground level I continued my way along the path. I could see the sun slowly rising as I walked, and my legs started to become sore after a while, but I still carried on. The hunger from the missed breakfast was starting to get to me, and I could hear my stomach rumbling loudly. After what seemed like an eternity I finally came across what looked like it could be a fruit tree growing next to a river. As I made my way towards it, I saw that the tree was sprouting crabapples. Not my first choice, but what did I care? I was just hungry. I placed my satchel at the bottom along with Martin's sword, then grabbed onto the tree bark. The idea of heights still scared me, but I was getting use to it. As I made my way up, I began to make my way to the outer part of the branches. I reached out for one of the apples, snatched it, and then dropped it down so it landed in my bag. I managed to grab another before it happened.
I noticed my vision becoming blurry as I turned to throw the apple down. 'Shit!' I thought, looking down at the massive drop below me. 'Not now, anytime but now!' But it was no use. I knew that no matter how much I begged and pleaded, it would still happen. I tumbled over the branch, and I felt myself falling. The fact that the happenings around me were speeding up only made it seem like my heart was beating even faster. I blanked out before I even hit the water, though even in my unconscious state it seemed like I could feel the water making its way down my throat. The steady thrusting of paws against my soaked chest was the only thing that pulled me out of my death-like trance. "Breathe, damn it, breathe!" I opened my eyes to see a sturdily built otter kneeling over me, pressing his paws in a motion that could be for nothing other than to get water out of my lungs. He was wearing clothes similar to the ones I had on. I tried to talk, to say a word of thanks, but when I tried only water came out. I coughed more and more until I was sure it was all out, then turned to the beast who saved my life.
"Thanks," I managed to say in a somewhat scraggly voice. The slightest smile crossed his face as he turned to face me.
"You're okay. Good." I nodded, then took the opportunity to glance around and see where I was. The place was an underground burrow, dug out carefully so that the stream to my right could easily flow through it. There were several passages to my left that obviously lead to other rooms, and at one of the entrances stood a younger otter, around my age. He was rather lean and not that muscular, though you could easily see he was a strong swimmer by the build of his tail. The otter above me stood up and pointed to an area just beside the stream, against the wall. "Your stuff's over there." Without another word he walked off down a tunnel near the water. I walked over to my belongings, my drenched tail dripping like mad, the dagger easily visible. As I bent down to gather them together I could hear the pawsteps of the other otter making their way across the room towards me. I swung the satchel over my shoulder, picked up the sword, then turned to face the beast. His deep blue eyes seemed to sparkle as he reached me.
"Hey," I called out, waving a paw. He nodded and waved back.
"Hey." I looked him over, noticing that his outfit seemed a little loose. "You were the one we found lying half in and half out of the river, right?" I cringed at the thought. "Apparently the otter who found you wasn't strong enough to help you, so he brought you back here." Turning to face the direction that the other otter headed in, he continued. "That was my father that helped you. He's the current Skipper, and never really shows his emotions. That's why he didn't really acknowledge you." I simply nodded, not really understanding but accepting it anyways. "So, how did you end up like that?" He gazed down at his footpaws as he asked me the question.
I looked away from him. "I don't really want to talk about it." He simply nodded, glancing down at the sword beside me.
"So, do you spar?" I could tell it was a rather desperate attempt to avoid an awkward silence, but I went along with it anyways.
"Well, not yet." I pulled the blade up before me so I could gaze at the beauty of its scabbard. "I got this from…" I hesitated to tell him the truth. "…a friend. I haven't gotten to use it yet." He nodded again, then turned to head towards one of the tunnels.
"Well then, you can start today." I looked up to see him beckoning for me to follow. I grabbed my things and headed after him. He seemed friendly enough. Maybe, just maybe he could teach me something useful…