A/N: Yeah, yeah, I know. I'm a bad person. This took ages. I'm sorry! Here you go.
So, I've been asked if I'm planning to write any more fics and I said I would give more information closer to the time. Well, there is now another fic in the works! I'm going to be working on it side by side with Features, so I won't have to leave a huge gap between the end of Features and the beginning of my next fic. The plus side as well is that I should have at least a bit of a buffer, but hopefully a decent buffer by the time I start uploading. Writing Features, I haven't had a buffer, but I did that deliberately and it's been therapeutic for me. I needed to be able to just write in order to gain confidence and it's helped me a lot. My reasoning is that as I get more confident as a writer, I'll be able to plan better without stressing myself out. It seems to be working so far! That's all I'm going to tell you about it just now, but I'll give you a summary and (hopefully) a title later on.
WickedObsessed: Yeah, I know Idina and Kristin! Actually, it was Idina that was Elsa, not Willamijn (I'm assuming that's who you meant). I heard Kristin sing when she voiced a character in Rio 2, and I was in awe. Her voice is stunning. I am from the UK, yeah. Of course there's a cliffhanger. If I didn't do it, you wouldn't come back!
Why hadn't she worn that dress? Conspicuous it may be, in some ways, but right now it would have afforded her just the kind of camouflage she needed.
Elphaba tumbled onto her knees without thinking, scurrying to hide behind the nearest building. As she did so, a terrible thud sounded from behind her and Fiyero gasped. Cowper mewled quietly, looking distraught.
The barrel of water that they'd worked so hard to retrieve had smashed on the ground, the water spilt like blood.
Elphaba whitened, whipping her head around toward the two men when she heard them begin to cry out. No! She shouted in her head. Please, no! Had they heard that? Had they been seen?
The two men were staring intently somewhere in Elphaba, Fiyero and Cowper's direction. One of them, the shorter, started pointing, but his words were still too muffled to be heard. The taller seemed to squint in the direction he was pointing, then returned his gaze to his partner. His head tilted once again toward the building where they were hiding and back. He did this a few more times, then threw his arm in the air like a chief actor – the one not grasping the leash. The shorter man was still pointing frantically, even seeming to be bouncing on his toes, the unnamed bundle jostling in his arms with the movement.
Hardly daring to breathe, Elphaba turned her head to eye the spilled water that was spreading ominously from their feet. If it continued much further, the men would be able to see it coming from behind the building. Mentally, she chanted, begging it to stop moving.
The taller man raised his arm again, their voices becoming louder, but as yet indecipherable. They seemed to be arguing.
The water was still moving.
Elphaba's head began to spin the longer she went without taking a breath. She was barely aware of Fiyero pressed into her side, with Cowper curled up at her knees, quaking.
Finally, the men seemed to drop their argument and made to continue with their task, whatever it was. They were about to disappear around the back of the warehouse when the water finally crept into sight.
Elphaba was forced to take a breath. Her breathing came out ragged and shallow as she watched the spillage spread, but the strangers hadn't noticed it yet.
The bundle in the short man's arms was still moving. Actually, it looked as though something was elbowing the material from the inside. Elphaba fought to hold in a gasp. Could it hold something living? Frantically, her eyes zipped from the bundle to the leash and back again. Both squirming and quailing. Could it be...?
"Animals?" Fiyero whispered in a strained voice in her ear.
Elphaba bit her lip, hard. Blood oozed out of the wound, dribbling down her chin, but she did nothing to stop it. Cowper was now trembling much harder.
Elphaba's mind worked frantically, trying to work out a plan of action, but apparently, Fiyero had reached one before she did. Or maybe he was just acting on impulse. Whatever it was, he grabbed her hand, shifting sideways and communicating with her with his eyes to follow. Bewildered, she did so cautiously, shuffling on her rear toward him, convinced at every moment that they would be discovered.
Fiyero held her gaze firmly, authoritatively. His fingers encased hers, and Cowper watched them warily.
He let go of one of her hands to bring a finger to his lips, then quickly retrieved it. Slowly, he arched around the corner of the building to see where the men were. With a flickering glance, he withdrew and beckoned Elphaba back. They kept shuffling, silently, silently, slowly. At last, he nodded somewhere to his side, and Elphaba realised that there was a narrow pathway between the empty buildings surrounding them. Understanding, she and Cowper followed as Fiyero crept down the path.
After a while, Elphaba realised they were heading behind the warehouse discretely. The voices of the men became audible again as they approached, and this time, Elphaba could hear some of what they were saying.
"There's no one here!"
"No. There has to be. We wouldn't have been sent out here if the place was abandoned."
A groan. "Seriously? This has all been for nothing."
"I tell you, it hasn't. See the way his ears are pricking? No – they're close."
"Could've smelled a rat."
"Or, he could've smelled what we're looking for."
A snarl emanated from the end of the leash.
"Shut up, you!"
A yelp.
Elphaba squinted through the grass. It was all so hazy. If only she could see them.
"There are more of them here, and we're going to find them."
Another huff. "It's not like we don't have enough of them already. I don't see why he has to be greedy."
A sudden peal of laughter. "Money, my friend. You should know that."
"Why doesn't he sell some of his own stuff then? Oz knows he can't need it all."
A sharp slap, and one of the men howled.
"Don't say such things!" the other hissed. "I know you're missing some brains in there, but there are some thoughts you should keep to yourself."
Moaning. "Couldn't he at least have given us more men? What're we supposed to do if we do find them? Charm them away?"
"We're the only ones who can do this job. He already explained this. No one likes doing things in small numbers, but sometimes we just do what needs to be done. By the time we do the next job, I'm certain there'll be more men."
"This is stupid."
"You should be grateful he's the one giving the orders, and not her. I know he isn't exactly all butterflies and roses, but she scares me. Say what you want about being afraid of a woman."
"Ha! You're a coward."
"Maybe I am, then."
"What's she gonna do?"
"Look. I know he's hard, but she's got something worse."
"What's that?"
"Vendetta. Just you bear that in mind, fool."
Elphaba had managed to find a slit in the grass, and she could see a little better. Her eyes were fixed on the bundle that was probably an Animal, and the end of the leash which she could now see held a Tiger captive.
Fiyero shifted a little beside her, and Elphaba noticed he had pulled a scrap of paper from somewhere – maybe inside his jacket – and he was busily writing on it with mud from the ground on his finger. His eyebrows were knitted together, but his hands weren't shaking. He finished and showed it to Elphaba. It said D-A-N-G-E-R in capital letters. Hastily, he placed it in her hand, then leaned forward to whisper in her ear. "I need you to think of a way to get that through the window, Fae." He nodded toward the upper window that looked empty, but actually led to a room usually frequented by Dr Dillamond. "Use a spell or try to improvise. You can do it."
Elphaba's mind was reeling, but Fiyero was right. She could do this. She had a spell. Taking a deep breath, she held her hand flat with the paper lying in her palm and muttered as quietly as she could. The corners of the paper began to quiver, and then they flew off abruptly. Elphaba gasped, but somehow, the men were too busy bickering to see it. The paper flew neatly into the window and she sagged with relief.
What should they do now?
Fiyero seemed to be thinking deeply about something. "Fae," he whispered at length. "How are you at conjuring?"
Elphaba quirked an eyebrow at him. "What do you need?"
He shrugged. "I don't know. An overcoat? And a hat? With a wide brim, preferably. Something to hide my eyes."
Elphaba blinked. "Um. I can try..."
Fiyero smiled wryly. "That's all I'm asking."
Elphaba closed her eyes and thought hard. Why was she doing this? She knew Fiyero could be random, but somehow, this request didn't feel random, even if he was playing it off as such.
For a minute, nothing happened, and she was convinced that her magic didn't work this way. Suddenly, though, the desired items appeared in her hands. She started in spite of herself.
Fiyero looked like he would have laughed if they weren't in such danger. Instead, he winked. "Perfect." Before Elphaba could figure out what he was doing, he'd collected the hat, placed it on his head and cast the coat around his shoulders. "Be right back," he muttered, retreating back the way they'd come. "Stay here," he instructed before disappearing off.
Elphaba and Cowper merely blinked at one another. The Cat appeared to hoist his shoulders in what must have been a shrug. Somewhat instinctively, Elphaba shuffled on her knees a little closer to Cowper. He responded, as if having the same thought, winding up in her lap while she brushed her fingers across his fur to soothe herself. Movement caught her eye, and from a broken-down shed a little behind and to the side of the spot the men were, Fiyero appeared. Elphaba's breath caught in her throat at the brazen way he sauntered toward them, Cowper tensing in her lap. The hat drooped considerably over Fiyero's eyes – most of his face, actually – and the large coat was wrapped around him. The look was an odd one – a curious cross between a vagabond and a scarecrow.
"Gentlemen," Fiyero announced in a low voice unrecognisable as his own, appearing behind the men. The tall man jumped around at Fiyero's sudden appearance, while the short man gaped.
"Who're you?" The short man spluttered, like a playground bully caught extorting someone out of their lunch.
"Could ask the same question," Fiyero answered phlegmatically. "Can I help you?"
"We're looking for-" the shorter man began, before his taller comrade kicked him viciously in the leg.
"Ow!" he cried out petulantly. "What was that for?"
"We just lost something," the tall man interceded.
"Really?" Fiyero sounded vaguely bored. "Anything I can help you find?"
"No, sir," the tall man said, impatiently. "I assure you we can deal with our own business."
"Oh..." Fiyero said, thoughtfully. "I only wondered..."
"Wondered what?" Despite his attitude, the tall man was showing a little interest now.
"Were you looking for more of those creatures?" Fiyero tipped his head toward the Tiger who was fighting against the leash.
"How did you-" the short man spluttered, before he was kicked again.
"Because there were some of them here, a while ago. If that's what you wanted to find."
Both men were definitely interested now. The differences between them, so obvious up until now, were rapidly diminishing as they each balanced on their toes like excited children who were trying – not to look like excited children.
"Really?" the tall man said with energy. Then he seemed to deflate. "They're gone now?"
"Yes," Fiyero said. "They left about a week ago."
The tall man looked suspicious. "Maybe we should look around this warehouse anyway."
"I wouldn't advise that, actually. That's why I came to speak to you. If you really were looking for Animals, and you planned to look in that warehouse, I had to warn you that they were forced to leave because a disease broke out among them."
Elphaba, listening closely from her hiding spot, raised her eyebrows and had to stifle a laugh. It was genius really, this web of lies Fiyero was spinning. He was a natural negotiator.
"Disease?" the man looked alarmed. "What kind of disease?"
"Impossible to say," Fiyero shrugged. "Not the kind to come from humans, that's certain. But it was potent enough to pick off quite a number of them. Like I say, that's why they left. The warehouse conditions weren't good, and with all of them packed together in there like sardines, it was spreading like the Black Death. They left all of their things, though. I wouldn't recommend that you go in there. Could still be hanging around, you understand."
The men shuddered visibly. Fiyero had them.
"Where did they go then? Do you know?"
Fiyero shrugged again. "Several places. They don't want to be all together like that again, you see. Some of them headed to the north of town, I believe. Others preferred to disperse to other nearby towns."
A scowl. "Can't tell us anything more specific?"
Fiyero shook his head. "I'm afraid not. But if you want to find them, I'd recommend looking in smaller hideouts. I can tell you, they won't be staying somewhere this large again."
Elphaba wanted to run out there and kiss him. When he got back, and when she knew for certain they were safe, she would.
"Right. Right." The man, the leader, was nodding. "Right, sir. We thank you." He raised his hand and Fiyero shook it.
"No problem," Fiyero said. "I wish you all the best." He tipped his hat and turned back the way he'd come.
The strangers looked frustrated beyond measure. "Well, I guess we'd better leave then," the shorter man said.
"The Master won't be happy."
"Well, what can we do? We came here, didn't we?"
A sigh. "He won't be expecting us back yet. We've still time to go north and search around there. Might not have much luck without more specific information, but at least we know to avoid the large places."
"Sure, sure."
Elphaba gasped as Fiyero materialised beside her again. She jumped to face him. He grinned at her and winked, but placed a finger against his mouth to remind her to be quiet.
'The Tiger,' Elphaba mouthed at him.
Fiyero nodded seriously, pointing at Elphaba.
What, did he expect her to do something?
He was mouthing at her again. She worked hard to translate the way his mouth was moving. 'A spell,' she eventually understood.
A spell? But what kind of spell? Didn't he realise she was likely out of spells by this point?
...Except that she wasn't. An idea taking root in her mind, Elphaba's eyes lit up and she returned his grin. Muttering some words beneath her breath – reading all those 'useless' spell books in the library was really paying off – the two men abruptly collapsed on the spot. They didn't move. Elphaba's grin felt like it might split her face.
"What did you do?" Fiyero whispered, unsure yet whether it was safe to speak.
"I cast a sleeping spell," Elphaba whispered back excitedly. She felt giddy. Who would have thought she could ever do something like this?
Fiyero's beam almost rivalled her own. "Brilliant, Fae!" he exclaimed, still in a whisper. "Will they wake soon?"
"No. Not for about half an hour, anyway. I hope. I've never actually cast that spell before, but it seemed to work."
"I'll say it did!"
Cowper batted his head against Elphaba's knee. "Fiyero knows you're powerful, Mistress."
"Hey!" Fiyero looked put out. "What happened to 'Master' Fiyero?"
Elphaba rolled her eyes, still feeling childishly gleeful. "Come on, Master Fiyero. We have to move the men away from here. When they wake up, we need them away from the Animals so they can go about their pretty business up north." She felt ready to burst with pride at Fiyero's quick thinking, right now.
He nodded, and cautiously, the three emerged from their hiding place. The Tiger on the leash was still there, looking bewildered, and squirming on the ground was the sack.
Elphaba rushed forward at once toward the sack. The Tiger took several steps back, as if he was afraid of her, but Elphaba ignored him for now. She hurried to burst open the sack, and out squirmed another, much smaller, much thinner, and much more frightened looking Tiger Cub. He was shivering and squeaking in terror, blinking against the sudden light. When he saw the adult Tiger, he stumbled over to him, burying himself in the Tiger's leg. The Tiger responded at once. "Sweet one," he murmured. "You're alright now. You're safe now, sweet one. We're safe."
Elphaba's heart wrenched when she realised the Cub was crying softly. She looked over at Fiyero.
"I'll sort the men out," Fiyero said. "Can you see to them?"
Elphaba nodded, and Fiyero made to take the men away. It seemed like an impossible task, but as it turned out, Fiyero was stronger than he looked. He seemed to be able to lift them easily like a bag of potatoes. Elphaba simple gaped at him for a moment as he walked off with the short man slung over his shoulder. Fiyero caught her staring and winked.
Returning her attention to the Tigers, Elphaba cautiously approached the traumatised pair, Cowper padding alongside her. "Hello," she began tentatively, but both the strangers shrunk away from her in horror.
"Don't..." the Tiger begged brokenly. "Leave us alone, please. We haven't done you any harm."
"No, of course not!" Elphaba tried to calm them. "I'm not going to hurt you, I promise you. My friend is taking the men away who hurt you. We're trying to help you."
Her words didn't seem to be making a difference. With every word that came out of her mouth, they shrunk away all the more. Poor creatures, Elphaba couldn't help thinking. Whatever has happened to them?
Cowper slowly walked over to the Tigers, reclining on his paws just as he reached them. "I know you're afraid," he said. "But you don't need to be afraid of my mistress. Mistress Elphaba means you no harm. She's good and kind, and she's going to take care of you. My other Master means you no harm either. He's a little brainless, but he's good and kind too."
Elphaba bit her lip to stifle a laugh. This wasn't the time to laugh, however amusing the backhanded compliment Cowper had just dealt Fiyero.
It seemed, though, that the Cat was beginning to get through to them. "Who are you?" the Tiger asked Cowper cautiously.
"My name is Cowper. Like I said, my Mistress is Elphaba. The boy who took the men away is Fiyero."
"They don't mean us harm?"
"Absolutely not," Cowper stated unequivocally. "I trust them completely. And if I trust them, I promise you can too. They are kind humans, and they sympathise with Animals."
"Are you sure?"
"Completely. Will you allow Mistress Elphaba to help you?"
The Tiger's eyes flickered between Elphaba and Cowper, still incredibly tense. The young Cub had yet to look at them at all, but he – or she – was still curled up against the Tiger's leg.
"Yes." Something changed in the Tiger's eyes. He was beginning to trust them.
Elphaba sat down on the ground. "There are other Animals in that warehouse. If you'll allow me, I'll introduce you to them."
The Tiger stared at her for a very long time, analysing her. His eyes were a brilliant emerald green, and in fact, there was something in his expression that seemed vaguely familiar to Elphaba. But she was certain she'd never met him before, or the Cub. "I thought there was a disease," he said finally.
Elphaba shook her head. "That was a bluff. Fiyero wanted to distract those men away from the colony of Animals hiding here. They'll have to move now anyway, since they've apparently been discovered once. But we had to convince them to leave in the meantime."
The Tiger took a deep, shuddering breath. "Your friend is a convincing liar. I believed him."
Elphaba smiled briefly. "I was rather impressed myself."
He seemed to deliberate. "Alright. We'll come."
Elphaba's smile widened, encouragingly. "Are you injured?"
The Tiger barked a laugh. "Of course. Difficult not to be, in these times. But don't worry. We'll make it inside."
"Are you sure?" Elphaba was worried.
"I am." With sudden effort, he hauled himself up, bringing the little Cub with him.
"Okay, then." Elphaba let him go by himself but kept a close eye on him just in case. These creatures looked more dreadful than Khanija had when they met. What had they been through? It had to have been something awful. What had the men wanted them for? Was it just to help lead them to the Animals that they brought them along today? Or was there some other reason? "What are your names?" she asked.
The Tiger was silent for a long, drawn out moment. "'What are our names?' It's a long time since anyone's asked us that. I'd almost worried I might forget. Well, my name is Koa and this is my niece, Lylak."
So the Cub was a girl. That answered one question at least, however trivial.
"I'm glad to meet you, Koa, and you, Lylak."
Lylak huddled closer to her uncle, but she seemed to have heard.
"I'm sorry," Elphaba said with regret. "I don't mean to frighten her."
"It's alright," Koa said. "Give her time. She's seen more horrors than any child should face. It's nothing personal."
The very thought broke Elphaba's heart.
At that moment, the door to the warehouse opened cautiously and Khanija poked her head out from around it. "Miss Elphaba? Is everything alright? We got your message..." she trailed off, staring at the strangers, dumbfounded. Her jaw dropped open. "Papa?"