Willow-switch and Rabbit
Chapter 2
By: Elspeth the Minstrel
A/N: Hooray, I'm actually posting the story now! R&R and enjoy!! :)
Disclaimer: Tad Williams owns everything!
"On a peaceful summer's day, many years ago, Rabbit--"
"What about her? What does Aditu's name mean?" Simon interrupted.
"I will get there, Seoman. Have patience, and do not disrupt. As I said, it is a long story."
Simon muttered his apologies, and Jiriki went on.
"Rabbit was walking in the woods. She wandered far away from Jao é-Tinukai'i, too caught up in thoughts to realize she was nearing human dwellings. An odd expression briefly crossed his face, one that, despite his weeks of living with Jiriki, Simon could not read. "Do you remember how you found me?" Jiriki asked, his usual calm expression returning.
'How could I forget?!' Simon thought. 'I thought I was going to be killed with your White Arrow!' Out loud he said, "Yes… you had been caught by that man, and you were hanging from a tree." 'As I am now,' Simon thought abruptly. 'Although I'm not trapped in a tree, I'm trapped in paradise, I guess. Yet, I'm trapped all the same, and I can't expect any wandering boy to come and free ME!' Simon reflected bitterly.
A trace of his distress must have shown on his face, because a puzzled look came into Jiriki's eyes. It soon vanished, though, and the Sitha continued telling his story.
"Rabbit had been caught in the same way as I-- by a cruel Sudhoda'ya. Although, instead of a noose in a tree, she walked into a hole in the ground."
Simon tried and failed to stifle laughter. "She fell in a HOLE?!" He asked incredulously. "Aditu! A hole!"
Jiriki's lips thinned and his golden eyes narrowed. "It is not funny, manchild. Rabbit was deep in thought. Her life was in danger."
"I'm sorry, Jiriki. It's just… Aditu is so graceful… I can't imagine ANY of you Sithi falling into a hole!"
Jiriki grinned slightly. "Yes, not often will something clumsy like that take place. However, Rabbit easily loses awareness of her surroundings when caught up in serious thought."
"What do you Sithi think about so much, anyway? How do you get new things to think about? Do you? Or do you just think about the same things over and over? Why do you--"
Jiriki held up a hand, silencing Simon's fountain of questions. "We have many things to ponder, manchild. Now, may continue?"
"But what KIND of things? You're immortal, haven't you just… out-thought everything after a while?"
"Seoman, which do you want to hear? The story of my name, or what we spend our time thinking about?"
"Your story. And I'll stop interrupting, too."
"Good, Seoman. Rabbit, from falling into the hole, hurt herself badly. Her left leg was broken, so she could not get out. She stayed in there for quite some time, but we back in Jao é-Tinukai'i did not know.
"Rabbit, we knew, is very learned in navigating the Aldheorte. She did not bring provisions on her walk, but she could have found food easily, or hunted with her bow. Because of this, we did not worry when she did not return that evening, or the next morning. We simply inferred that she had decided to stay away from Jao é-Tinukai'i for a few days.
"Rabbit knew we would think this, and knew she needed help somehow. My sister did not know how to contact us. A few days went by, and she grew discouraged, even hopeless. She did not think she would ever get help.
"Meanwhile, in Jao é-Tinukai'i, my family and I became worried. Although Rabbit likes to wander, she would not usually be away for more than a day or two, at least without saying so. Shima'onari and Likimeya sent An'nai and I to search for her." At the mention of An'nai, Simon saw a glimpse of sorrow on Jiriki's face. 'An'nai was Jiriki's friend, Simon thought. I wonder if it bothers him that An'nai was so buried so close to Grimmric, a mortal? I doubt it. I probably shouldn't ask him, anyway.'
Jiriki continued his story. "In her hole, Aditu was growing increasingly worried. You remember how the Sudhoda'ya that caught me acted, my Hikka Staja. Many of your kind believe the Zida'ya are demons, servants of your Devil. Rabbit was becoming increasingly worried that the Sudhoda'ya that had caught her would come check his trap."
"You mean some me actually set Sithi traps, like they would for game?" Simon queried.
"Yes, Seoman. What do you think I had been caught in? Many Sudhoda'ya that lice on the outskirts of Aldheorte set such traps."
"Oh."
"Along with being concerned with her captor, my sister was becoming very hungry. Luckily, she still had her bow and a quiver filled with arrows. On the fifth day of her capture, she finally was able to have food. A hare approached her hole. Aditu killed it, but because of her disadvantaged position, she used all but two of her arrows. The hare had been on the very edge of the hole, so she was able to reach it.
"As she began to clean it, an idea came to her. Looking into the hare's black eye, she realized it was a possible Witness. It seemed a stretch, but she had no better ideas.
"By a good turn of fate, I had been using my mirror to look for Rabbit when she used the eye of the hare to look for me. We spoke with each other, and told me her situation. When she said where she was, I grew very excited, for her hole was near to where An'nai and I were.
"We set out running immediately, foolishly leaving our possessions, including all of our weapons, behind. We arrived at her hole about an hour later, arriving from the north side of the clearing the hole was in.
"We weren't certain how to get Rabbit out of the hole. There was a willow tree near the hole, and I began pulling off branches. I tied them together to form a rope. As I was doing this, we heard voices approaching. Three men entered the clearing from the south side, one with a sword and two with spears. At the sight of three Zida'ya, they became quite happy. It was clear two of us were unarmed, and the third injured.
"They did not see Rabbit's bow, and she used her two remaining arrows. Her targets, being larger and unaware, were killed. Then there was only one man left. We didn't have the advantage, though. He aimed his spear at Aditu. He nearly threw it, when, by instinct, I reached out my hand to stop him. I had forgotten I was still holding my rope made of willow branches. It followed my hand's movement, and snapped at the man's arm. He pulled it back in pain. I had prevented him from throwing the spear. I used the rope to get Aditu out of the hole, while the Sudhoda'ya was nursing his arm. He aimed his spear again, this time at An'nai. I used the willow-rope to ward him off. Using the rope as a whip, I injured the man enough to make him go away. It saved all of our lives.
"Once we returned to Jao é-Tinukai'i, we told the story to Shima'onari and Likimeya. Because the use of the hare saved Aditu's life, and my use of the rope as a switch, they named us Rabbit and Willow-Switch."
Simon yawned. It was well after dark. "That's interesting, Jiriki. Thank you for telling me."
"Of course, my Hikka Staja."
A/N: This is my first fan fiction, so I'd appreciate feedback, positive and negative! I wasn't sure if I should leave this as one chapter, or break it into smaller segments. Please, tell me what you think!!! :)