(Well, I put this chapter up like two weeks after I meant to (sorry, couldn't find a way to finish this chapter and couldn't find the time), but it is longer then normal which makes up for the fact that the last chapter was short. Considering that my life seems determined to keep me away from my computer, the next chapter might take a while to get up. At the most three weeks…I think. I know most of you wanted me to get the next chapter up faster. I'll try. Thanks for reviewing and sorry about the time it takes me to get the chapters up.)
Redsplash first thought when she woke was, Hmm…I appear to be being dragged. I think I'll go back to sleep. Her next was considerably less innocent as someone tossed salt water in her face.
Coughing and sputtering she rolled over onto the stomach and glared up at the solemn looking rat that had tossed the water in her face. Fatefiend laughed and Darkclaw smirked, both of them standing behind the rat. "Wake up." The rat said emotionlessly and walked away.
Redsplash stood up and glared at the two of them, "I hate you both." She snapped and turned away, looking around. The sea confronted her on one side, sand on all the others. As she saw the sea her expression changed to one curiously like someone seeing something that made their stomach heave.
"Oh." She said, "The sea."
"Yes, we have to sail." Darkclaw said, "Wello and his crew have graciously decided to transport us to the other side of the ocean."
"Who's Wello?" Redsplash demanded, turning back to him. "And what does he get in return for transporting us?"
"Wello is the rat you just saw, and he gets a pardon for his crimes against the Warheart clan. Or at least he thinks he does."
Redsplash nodded slowly, "And where is the ship?" she asked.
"Down along the shore that way." Darkclaw said, pointing. "Go down there and wait."
"All right." Redsplash said agreeably and walked off quickly, shoving Fatefiend forward when he turned, as if to say something to either her or Darkclaw.
"What was that for?" Fatefiend demanded.
"We have to leave now." Redsplash said.
"What?" he asked, confused.
"We abandon Darkclaw here." Redsplash said, "Now. Today."
"Why?" Fatefiend asked, surprised. "I thought you said you wanted to get somewhere warmer before we left."
"I lied." She hissed, "We have to leave now. If Darkclaw loses control of those rats and they attack us, who is going to run the ship after we kill them? You?"
"Oh…right…" Fatefiend said, "I guess I see…"
"Good." Redsplash said, grabbing his elbow, "Come on, if we turn around now and go around him we might be able to get away."
"All right…" Fatefiend said, looking slightly dazed at the sudden change of plans.
The two of them went as quickly as they could across the sandy shore, managing to get around Darkclaw without much trouble. Redsplash was just about to suggest they slowed to a jog when suddenly she was being held suspended in the air. Judging by the odd squeaking noise next to her, she guessed Fatefiend had, too, been picked up.
"You must have misunderstood me." Darkclaw rumbled, "I said the boat was that way." And with that he threw them quite a distance in the direction of the boat. Redsplash landed on her back, wincing, and Fatefiend, by some miracle, managed to land on all fours and did not get the air knocked out of him as Redsplash did.
"Oh, that way." Fatefiend said, stood, and sprinted in the direction on the boat.
"Coward." Redsplash wheezed as she sat up.
Darkclaw walked up and pointed in the direction of the boat. "Go." He said.
"Give me a minute, I'm tryin' to catch my breath. You go on without me. I'll catch up." She said, still trying to breathe right.
Darkclaw sighed, reached down, picked her up by her neck, and began walking. "So we're back to this again." He said.
Redsplash kicked him in the ribs and tried to keep from screaming in frustration. "I don't like you." She hissed.
"You hate me." he corrected mildly.
She glared at him and tried to spit in his face, but choked and nearly killed herself. She decided to hold back on the spitting and kicked him again. He ignored her and kept walking until he was standing right in front of a rather impressive ship. He tossed her on the ground and gestured at the boat, "Get on." he commanded.
"I don't wanna." Redsplash said but waded into the water, looking as if she were about to throw a temper tantrum.
"Go!" he ordered.
"Fine!" Redsplash shouted back and dove into the water, swimming gracefully up to the side of the boat. "Hey! Idiots up there!" she shouted and slammed her paws against the side of the boat, "Get me up!"
One of the crew, a stoat, tossed down a rope and Redsplash caught it. The stoat stared expectantly down at her and she stared expectantly up at him. It became obvious that Redsplash expected him to pull her up, and that the stoat thought she would climb.
"Aren't you comin' up?" demanded the stoat.
"I would," Redsplash said, her voice tight with annoyance, "If you would pull me up."
"You're supposed to climb." He said doubtfully.
Suddenly a screaming mass of fur went flying over the water, "Red! Red! He's trying to ki-" the hysterical shrieks were cut off as Fatefiend sunk below the water, probably still shouting.
"Can he swim?" asked the stoat dumbly.
Redsplash rolled her eyes, and slipped back under the water. She pulled Fatefiend to the surface and punched him in the stomach, either because he annoyed her or to get the water out either one, and then gripped the rope with one paw. "Pull us up!" she shouted, "I can't climb for both of us!"
It took five of the crew to pull them up, with Redsplash complaining and Fatefiend muttering darkly about Darkclaw the whole time. Darkclaw had, apparently, thrown him into the water when he had discovered Fatefiend trying to dig a hole to hide in. When they reached their destination Redsplash tossed Fatefiend unceremoniously onto the wooden deck and pulled herself up with her arms, ignoring the offers of help.
"Do me a favor and cut the rope when the wildcat is trying to climb it." She told a nearby ferret who ignored her. It wouldn't have matter if he had tried anyway because Darkclaw, who had been in the ocean when Redsplash had first reached the deck, was now already most of the way up the rope. There would have been no time for the thought to process in the ferrets mind and for him to carry out the order.
Darkclaw reached the deck about the same time Fatefiend decided it was safe to stand up. "I hate boats." The ferret said, "I took the stream route last time. I took a raft then." He seemed to be mourning the raft.
"Sea is faster." Darkclaw remarked, "Or I wouldn't be near it."
"What, do you get seasick?" Fatefiend asked.
"No." Darkclaw said, turned, and walked to the rat named Wello, who was bellowing orders at the top of his lungs.
Redsplash looked around and sighed, "Ah, the good old sea air." She said in a mockingly admiring voice, "Makes me sick." She added, her tone changing to one of contempt and disgust.
"Why don't you like the sea, Red?" Fatefiend asked, blinking.
Redsplash ignored his question, "I hope we don't run out of water." She remarked, "Because if we do and I have to drink someone's blood…" she stopped talking loud enough for Fatefiend to hear, muttering vehemently under her breath and Fatefiend inched away, wondering what was wrong with her.
Suddenly Wello bellowed something and all of the crew was in motion, moving about the ship in ways Redsplash did not even want to try to follow. Apparently they were setting sail. How lovely. "Red," Fatefiend said, "I think I might get sea sick."
"This close to the shore?" Redsplash asked, annoyed, "Then I hope we never hit any waves bigger then you are tall."
"They get that big?" Fatefiend asked, shocked.
"Bigger," Said a passing ferret, "Then this ship."
"Ferret, you look unhealthily green." Darkclaw observed in amusement as he strolled over to them.
Fatefiend swallowed and glared defiantly up at Darkclaw, "And you look unnaturally ugly." He responded.
"Don't make me toss you overboard." He said, though his voice held more amusement then Redsplash had ever heard. "It would be a very annoying way to die. Drowning." He walked away easily as the ship started moving.
"Drowning can't be all that bad." Fatefiend said and glanced suspiciously at Redsplash, "Can it?"
"I dunno, you came closer to drowning then I ever have a few moments ago. Why don't you ask yourself?" she walked to the very center of the deck and stood there, trying to annoy a nagging feeling that something was wrong. Of course something was wrong. She was sailing back to the Nameless One.
The ship had been in motion for around fifteen minutes when Fatefiend surrendered his stomach's contents into the sea. Another ferret laughed so hard that he nearly fell into the ocean as he watched Fatefiend grip the rail as if it were the only thing keeping him alive.
Fatefiend glanced at the other ferret, "You have no idea," he said, his voice rough from the vomiting, "How acutely depressing it to realize that we are from the same species." And then he hastily leaned over the rail again, submitting what was left of his breakfast to the waves.
"I wonder how long it will take for him to get over his seasickness." Darkclaw rumbled from behind Redsplash, "I'm betting half the voyage."
Redsplash glared at him, "Do not take bets on how long it will take for Fate to get over his sickness." She snapped.
"Why not?" Darkclaw asked, amused.
Redsplash scowled and looked away, not answering him. Suddenly a horrible smell reached her nostrils, "What is that smell?" she demanded.
"Lunch." Darkclaw answered, deliberately raising his voice so that Fatefiend could hear, "Fish eyes and squid." Darkclaw's grain widened at the sound of Fatefiend renewing his tribute to the sea, surprising everyone who had thought his stomach must have been empty by now.
Suddenly Darkclaw noticed something, "Why, Redsplash, you look slightly green." He said. "Are you seasick?"
"Otters never get seasick." Shouted Wello, though he was standing barely two paces away.
"I think they do." Darkclaw said, staring closely at Redsplash.
"I'll bet you they don't." Wello replied.
"I'll take that bet." Redsplash said, her voice choked, and then rushed to the side and spewed her breakfast into the ocean along side Fatefiend until there was nothing left. Right about then they entered the really deep water and though Fatefiend, laying flat on the deck and breathing heavily, seemed to be getting better Redsplash kept getting worse until, finally she passed out. The last thing she saw before she fainted was Darkclaw laughing himself sick a few paces away.
"Red, Red, are you alive?" asked Fatefiend as he shook her.
"Uh," Redsplash said, not exactly sure, and opened one eye. "What do ya want?" she demanded, trying to lift her head off the pillow and failing. She had not been this sick before in her life; the fact that she had only been sick one or twice in her life did not matter to her at all.
"I brought you lunch." Fatefiend said and rummaged around in his pack and brought out what looked like a pear. He glanced doubtfully down at it, "I was going to bring you down some of that stew but I ate it."
Redsplash stared blearily up at him, "I wouldn't expect anything else." She said, grabbed the pear and took a bite out of it. Only then did it occur to her to look around. She was in some sort of little room with four bunks jammed into it somehow. She was on the bottom of the one on the left and, it being the only way he could talk to her without being right next to her, Fatefiend was sitting on the bunk across from her.
"You've been asleep for a day, by the way." Fatefiend said, "The crew wanted to toss you overboard because you kept waking them up, what with your screaming, and-"
Redsplash sat up then immediately regretted it and lay back flat again and turned her head towards Fatefiend, "I was screaming?" she demanded.
"Yes, but mostly it was death threats." He tilted his head to the left, "Once you were screaming about someone named Laflen, but I don't know who-"
"Damn." Redsplash said, covering her eyes with her hands, "I hate this."
"Anyway, as I was saying," Fatefiend said after a moment of silence, "The crew wanted to toss you overboard and Darkclaw and Wello got into this huge argument and, uh, Darkclaw tossed Wello off the boat. He died."
Redsplash laughed, though it sounded more like someone choking, "I bet he did." She said, "He didn't look like a swimmer."
"Well, he wasn't but there was also this huge fish that ate him. You missed that too, Red." Fatefiend said, "The fish was huge."
"I've seen huge fish before." Redsplash said, wincing at both the memory of the pike that nearly ate her alive and the sudden jerk of the ship that followed Fatefiend's words. "I don't need to see them again."
"All right…" Fatefiend said, "Well, I've got to get back up there. Ever since Wello died and Eade took over they've needed Darkclaw to shout the orders, because Eade can't scream at all, and I have to cook because Eade used to be the cook. I'll bring you down something else after dinner."
Redsplash would have answered if he hadn't already been gone. Instead she thought about what he had just said, "Eade? Wello? What kind of names are those?" she shook her head, "This little boat trip couldn't get any worse."
That's when some rat on the deck started up a song and the rest of the vermin joined in. Redsplash groaned, wincing at every note. She stared weakly at the wide open door that was just out of reach. To get to it she would have to stand up. "This is hell. I've reached hell." She observed in shock, looking around.
She sat up and rolled out of the small bed, slamming against the wooden floor and shutting the door as hard as she could. She could still hear the song, but the wooden door and walls filtered out most of it. She pulled herself back up onto her bed and curled into a ball, muttering vehemently under her breath about how she would kill the singers as soon as she could stand up.
"How's the otter?" Darkclaw asked as Fatefiend came strolling up, momentarily done with his kitchen duties. It surprised Darkclaw how quickly Fatefiend had gotten over his seasickness almost as much as it surprised him how bad Redsplash's case of the sickness was.
"I think she's gettin' better." He said, "She's awake at least."
Darkclaw laughed, "And did you tell her about the screaming?"
"Of course." Fatefiend said with an evil grin that faded quickly, "But I don't think it worked like you said it would."
"Oh, really? How did it work then?"
"I think it just made her sicker."
Darkclaw blinked and his expression went suddenly thoughtful, "I wonder why…" he said and looked at Fatefiend, "Do you know how she was enslaved by the Nameless One?"
"No, I was raised over on the Nameless One's island, Dethrian, and was only brought over two seasons after he had gotten his little castle in these lands, by then Redsplash was already enslaved. She might have been in one of the few slaves he brought around the land with him, or she might have been in the castle, or she might have been in the hundreds they found nearby." He shrugged, "And she won't tell me."
Darkclaw's eyes narrowed in thought and he walked away, leaving Fatefiend to go back to his kitchen.
"I'm alive." Redsplash said fifteen minutes later as she staggered out onto the deck, urged to pull herself up to here by the smell of food. Vermin were scattered around the ship, eating and insulting each other, while Darkclaw and Fatefiend sat across from eat other without talking. They all ignored her, as she hadn't spoken loud enough for them to hear her. Annoyed she cleared her throat and bellowed, "I'm alive!"
All of them turned to look at her and Redsplash pointed at Fatefiend, "You," she said accusingly, "Didn't bring me more food."
"I didn't think you'd want it." Fatefiend said defensively.
"Well there's the problem." Redsplash said clearly, "Who told you to think?"
Fatefiend scowled, "I'll get you some food, Red." He muttered, stood up, and trotted away.
Redsplash watched him go with narrowed eyes then turned back to the rest of the vermin, "And why are you all staring at me? Eat!"
Darkclaw rolled his eyes and stood slowly, "Redsplash, we've found a cabin where you might be about to heal faster, the only thing you have to do in order to take over the best cabin on the ship is not come out to the voyage is over with." He said.
"What? What did I do?" Redsplash demanded irritably.
"You kept the crew awake. They couldn't sleep." Darkclaw said, "And they're nervous about having an otter onboard that's not in chains."
Redsplash turned to glare at the vermin who were eating. Those few that did notice her glares merely glared back in return. Redsplash turned her gaze back to Darkclaw, "So, I trade my freedom for my health?" she demanded rebelliously.
"Think about it this way, Red." Fatefiend said, handing her a bowl of stew as he arrived. "You won't have to see any of us until we land."
Redsplash's expression brightened a bit and then went thoughtful. "All right…" she said after a few seconds thought, "But before I go, I want to look around this ship."
"Anywhere but the lower decks." Fatefiend said immediately.
"Why not them?" Redsplash asked suspiciously.
"It's an oar ship Redsplash." Darkclaw said as if there was some connection she should have made by now.
"So…you don't want me to get killed by the evil oars?" Redsplash said, obviously not understanding.
"What Darkclaw is trying to say," Fatefiend said with an annoyed glance at the wildcat, "Is that there are slaves on this ship."
The silence was tense as Redsplash stared at them blankly then blinked. "So?" she asked after a minute.
"So?" Fatefiend said, "So?!"
Darkclaw's expression darkened, "You're not the least bit worried about the poor little slaves, are you?"
"Is it my fault they're down there? Is it my fault that they're not smart or strong enough to get free of these stupid rats?" Redsplash replied, defensive, "It's not my fault so it's not my problem."
"Stupid rats?" demanded a large, tattooed, rat as he stalked over, sword drawn. Obviously he had heard the insult and had decided to stick up for all rat kind.
Redsplash carefully put her bowl down, whirled, and charged at the rat, ducking the rat's panicked sword thrust, and slamming straight into his stomach, knocking the air out of him. He fell back onto the wooden deck and Redsplash stared contemptuously down at him before kicking him off the ship.
"Stupid rats!" she yelled at him as he slipped into the ocean with a splash. She stalked back over to Fatefiend and Darkclaw, picked up her bowl of stew, and demanded to be shown the cabin before she killed anything else and go sick again doing it. Darkclaw quietly showed the otter the cabin, which had once belonged to Wello, and shut the door behind her, locking it from the outside. He turned back around and rejoined Fatefiend who was sitting on the now vacated deck.
"You would think she would show more compassion to slaves." Darkclaw observed, looking out at the sea, "Considering she was one."
"I thought so too, at first, but I forgot who Redsplash was."
"And who exactly is that?"
"Redsplash." Fatefiend said and then, seeing the look Darkclaw shot him, clarified, "I don't think she understands what compassion is. If she does something it helps her or her friends. She gets loyalty, but not compassion."
"And who, exactly, are her friends?"
"Well, I'm the only one I know of, but there might be more." Fatefiend said slowly.
"She doesn't treat you like you're her friend."
Fatefiend laughed, "If I wasn't her friend she would have killed me a very long time ago."
Darkclaw looked down at the ferret, "Otters aren't supposed to be so fond of killing. They're supposed to avoid it wherever possible."
Fatefiend shrugged, "Wildcats aren't supposed to believe in peace and refuse to fight."
"Yes. Well. I'm not sure my sister is entirely a wildcat." Darkclaw snapped, annoyed.
Fatefiend laughed then narrowed his eyes, "I wonder why Redsplash hasn't tried to kill you yet." He said seriously.
"She couldn't." Darkclaw answered.
"That's never stopped her before." Fatefiend said, "She's a fighter."
"With the heart of a toad." Darkclaw replied.
"No." Fatefiend said, "Closer to the heart of a badger."
"Badgers have honor." Darkclaw pointed out, scowling.
Fatefiend stood, offended and annoyed. "Very well then," he said icily, "She has the heart of a wildcat." He turned and walked off before Darkclaw could think of a reply.
Redsplash had explored the small cabin and found it sadly lacking of anything interesting. She wanted to leave the door open, as it stunk of rat, but knew the door would be locked. She was sitting with her back against the wall on the bed when she heard the lock click. She turned to look at the door and was surprised when Fatefiend opened the door and stuck his head in before motioning to her to come out, silently.
Redsplash rose without a sound and slipped out of the cabin. Fatefiend closed and locked the door, "I wanted to see what the wildcat has in the other main cabin." He said, "But I couldn't pick the lock."
"Amateur." Redsplash said scornfully. "Show me the lock and I can get it open."
"Unless it's on the other side of the door." Fatefiend pointed out.
"Ha, ha, ha." Redsplash said coldly, "Do you want my help or not?"
"Fine. Fine." Fatefiend said, "Come on. Quietly."
Redsplash rolled her eyes at the reminder to be quiet and followed the ferret soundlessly through the ship. Fatefiend was getting good at being stealthy but Redsplash was still at least twice as good as him. It was stupid of him to tell her to be quiet, when they got to the wildcat's cabin Redsplash understood why Fatefiend had needed her help. I was a very tricky lock. She had it open in the time it took Fatefiend to ask her if she needed any help.
"Come on." she hissed and opened the door only as wide as she absolutely needed to before slipping into the room. She didn't want to bet that the door wouldn't creak if opened far enough. Fatefiend came in behind her, squinting in the darkness. In the time it took for his eyes to adjust Redsplash had found the only thing of interest in the cabin. It was a scroll hidden carefully behind a tapestry. The tapestry was of a bright happy place. Darkclaw would never have allowed the thing to exist in the same ship as him if it did not serve a purpose.
"Let's go." She hissed.
"I want to look around." Fatefiend protested.
"I already found what you want." Redsplash hissed, "Let's go back."
"Fine." Fatefiend said doubtfully but did what she said.
When they got back to the cabin Redsplash lit a small lamp and opened the scroll up, before handing it to Fatefiend. "What's it say?"
Fatefiend glanced down at the paper, reading it quickly.
Darkclaw
My part of the plan has been checked several times. Do you not trust me? I will be there when you need me.
I respectfully request that Darkwing be killed. The hawk contentiously insists that my answers must be swift and to the point. Does he not know how the court functions?
Rumors of a berserk wildcat have begun to surface here, along with tales of an otter known as the Ghost. Some say the two have joined forces, some say they are bitter enemies, and some say they have yet to meet. The wildcat is said to have strange black markings on his forehead. I am reminded of your long lost brother.
Ijuiline
Fatefiend read the letter aloud then looked at her, "What's it mean?" he asked.
"Well, it means that we have no idea what's going on." Redsplash said with a note of impatience in her voice, "We have no idea who Ijuiline is, no idea what this plan is, and the only thing we know about Darkwing is that he is an impatient hawk."
"A hawk…" Fatefiend said, "I thought I saw a hawk a few days ago. Back when you got sick from that stew Darkclaw made…" he paused, eyes narrowed. "Yes. I saw a hawk. I tried to kill it and it landed in the forest…Darkclaw came out of the forest…"
"So, you think Darkwing and Darkclaw had a nice little chat while I passed out?" Redsplash asked, blinking.
"Yes." Fatefiend said, "We need to talk to the hawk."
"No we don't. We just need to kill it." Redsplash said.
"Why?"
"Because it's obviously carrying the messages. If we kill the messenger their little plan'll fall apart." She paused, "Hopefully."
"What if it's a plan that would help us?"
"What plan that Darkclaw would make would be good for us?" Redsplash demanded, "He doesn't even like us."
"I don't think Darkclaw likes anybody. I think he thinks of us as annoying little things he has to live with." Fatefiend said sourly.
"Do you think Ijuiline is a wildcat?" Redsplash asked, completely ignoring Fatefiend's comment.
"I don't know." Fatefiend said, "I don't think I heard her name when I had to sit through the long list of Darkclaw's relatives."
"Doesn't sound like a wildcat name anyway." Redsplash said, "I think it sounds more like a fox name."
"Since when did you know so much about names?"
"I dunno." Redsplash said, "I'm just guessing."
"Ah."
"Fine." Redsplash said, irritated, "You take this and figure something out. You put it back, too. I'm going to sleep. Get out."
"Red-"
"Out."
"Fine." Fatefiend said, turned, and stalked out of the room.
Redsplash smiled briefly as she heard the lock click back into place. Fatefiend would have no idea where the scroll went and when Darkclaw found out that someone had been messing with his things he would never suspect Redsplash who had been locked in her cabin all night. Suddenly Redsplash felt a fluttering in her stomach and closed her eyes and mouth tightly, hoping that if she just didn't breathe she wouldn't vomit her dinner all over the place.
Her method worked only because she held her breath for so long that she made herself go unconscious.
Redsplash spent the next five or six days in the cabin, becoming increasingly irritated with the size of the room. It took five paces to get across it one way, and three the other. The room was a small rectangle with no way to see outside except to open the door. By the sixth day she became so aggravated that she began slamming her head into the door over and over again, hoping to either get some attention or to render herself unconscious. She had gotten over her seasickness, but that was mostly because she hadn't been eating. When she did eat she ate only a little, because the cabin smelled bad enough without adding the smell of vomit.
Her head was just beginning to go numb when the door opened and Redsplash fell forward. She would have landed on her face if not for her reflexes, which allowed her to land on her hands and knees and quickly jump to her feet. She looked around, eyes narrowed, until she spotted Darkclaw.
The wildcat had his normal smirk in place as he stared down at her, "We've arrived." He said.
"That wasn't a very long trip." Redsplash commented rubbing her forehead.
"It didn't have to be." Darkclaw replied and suddenly some rat shouted his name. He nodded to Redsplash, turned, and walked off towards the rat.
Redsplash blinked as if something had surprised her. She turned and walked away. The crew gave her an incredibly wide berth as she turned and ducked back into her cabin where she waited until Fatefiend came to tell her that Darkclaw told them to leave at sundown, and that Darkclaw had already left to make sure nothing was happening on shore that would make it unsafe for them to be on shore.
"Right." Redsplash said, "He's probably gone to visit his messenger."
"Shouldn't we go after him, then?" Fatefiend asked.
"No." Redsplash said, "It would be to much trouble for us to sneak out of this ship in broad daylight, track Darkclaw, and get back on the ship before nightfall so we can just climb back down off the ship and go meet him."
"So, basically, we're to lazy?"
"Yes." Redsplash said. "Tell me when the sun goes down." She added and gave him a little shove towards her door.
Fatefiend rolled his eyes, "You are incredibly lazy, Red. I mean really, really, lazy."
"And you're ugly, but I don't complain about it. Shut the door on your way out."
"Fine." He said and walked the remaining distance out the door, paused, and then slammed the door shut, causing Redsplash to jump in surprise.
Darkwing landed in the sand a few minutes after Darkclaw decided her was far enough away from the boat and sat down. The hawk tossed his message to Darkclaw and Darkclaw caught it. "That's Pravin's answer. He did not seem to happy about whatever you wrote him."
"He shouldn't have been." Darkclaw replied. "I have a letter to Aloysius I want you to give him." Darkclaw said.
"Aloysius is close by. I'll have his answer within two days." Darkwing answered.
"Good." Darkclaw replied. "Here." He added and handed the hawk the next letter he was to carry.
"The otter that asked about your traveling companion is incredibly illusive. I have yet to catch a glimpse of him, but the stories he leaves behind are astounding. I doubt half of them are even based on truth though."
"And why do you doubt them?"
"Apparently he fought a badger, one of Narlig's clan, and won."
"I had hoped Narlig's clan would have died with him."
"Warhearts have always hated Narlig, though it was never said why."
Darkclaw paused and then shrugged, "Badgers are supposed to be good. Evil badgers disrupts the order of everything. If we don't watch our young they will get it into their heads that since badgers can be evil wildcats could be good. We have enough things to do without having to deal with the stress of killing our children and kin."
"Cold hearted prince I will see you later. I find that talking to you for to long makes me nauseous." Darkwing said and left quickly.
Darkclaw smirked and began walking back to his ship; surprised Redsplash or Fatefiend hadn't tried to follow him. He had purposely left Ijuiline's message where they would find it and so at least one of them should have known to follow him. Perhaps he was overestimating them and they had not found the letter. It didn't really matter though, because there was nothing they could do that was going to save them. Not now. Not since they first got on the ship and definitely not now that they had followed Darkclaw across the ocean.