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Chapter 12. The Grass is Always Greener

by Sybil

How did it come to this? Wallowing in a reeking ship, she could tolerate. When she was there, she was at least given her own space, but then they put her in here. Oh, she was all to herself at first, but then they started filing in one by one.

First it was that old vixen that kept rambling on and on and on about something sandy, an irritable brat second, and then came the wolf... Sybil glanced sideways, eyeing the savage's claws and fangs. Content to see the that the distance between them had not changed, the marten turned back to stare at a spot of gray on the wall as she tore at her bread. And as if her company wasn't loathsome enough, some slithery, slimy serpent had wormed its way into the room.

"Hello. Want some of mine?" Sybil turned to the voice, her face in a scowl. It was that fox again, this time holding a crusty chunk of bread out to her.

"Get lost, brat!"

Zula gave a yelp as the offering was swatted out of her paw. "Oh no!" She stooped down, paws fumbling around in an attempt to rescue the bouncing roll. It still puzzled the marten, how such a bumbling idiot managed to smuggle a knife in. And even more, the fox refused to give it to her after she had so kindly "found" her glasses.

Of course, starting out as a petty pickpocket, Sybil had learned the most crucial thing in life- how to spot an opportunity. And what better opportunity than that moment when everybeast was distracted by the box? But as interesting as the spectacles seemed, the fox's reaction was priceless. While short, it was at least hilarious to see pathetic little Zula squint her eyes and totter around like a drunkard.

And now the brat had both the glasses and the knife. Not a fair trade.

The thief would have certainly taken the blade now, but everybeast stared at her with quizzical expressions- most of all the wolf. The marten turned the other way in the instant of eye contact, placing a protective paw on her bandaged shoulder. Of course, wolves could smell blood leagues away. The very second she saw me she wanted to sink her fangs in.

"Ezcape? Iz you zure?" Sybil's ears pricked at the muffled voice and the simple word "escape." At least, that's what she thought it sounded like. And from the reactions of everybeast, her ears were working just fine. She watched as her cellmates cautiously clustered around the hole, seeming almost afraid to breathe.

"Escape?" the snake repeated.

"Yes!" somebeast said from the other side. "There was a message baked into my bread. I bit into it and then this piece of paper came out and now there's a plan written on it from something called the Red Dusk and we have to-"

"Stop," the wolf interrupted. "We can't let those... 'woodlanders'... hear about this, so be quiet. Also, what in Siren's name are you talking about a paper?"

"It's a message that was baked into the bread," a gruff voice explained. "Seems like there's going to be a riot in here from some vermin rebels. They're going to be here soon to free us, but we'll need to break out of here first to meet them. The attack is planned to happen two days from now, but telling from the way the bread's so hard and crusted..." there was a slight pause and Sybil found herself actually scooting closer to hear. "It seems as though it was baked just a couple days ago. They could come today." Soon enough, a rat's paw appeared through the hole and held a rumpled piece of parchment out to them.

Pearl took the paper, flipping it open and holding it so that everybeast could see. Perched on the brat's shoulder, the serpent craned her neck out, her tongue tickling the air. "Would they dare to get us out?" she asked.

"No idea. For all we know, they could just grab what they can and leave us here to rot." The rat's paw returned, palm raised upwards. Sighing, the old vixen rolled the paper up and placed it in his paw before it disappeared to the other side.

"Zattakas..." somebeast cursed, followed by more nonsense language.

"But how exactly are we going to get out of here?" came another muffled voice. "We don't have the means to even get past the doors, let alone the guards. What if we're the only ones? We'll be killed out there."

Whiny as he was, Sybil had to agree with him. The place was teeming with woodlanders and she had already searched the cell for anything useful, but her efforts were wasted. The only thing wrong with the place was the weakened wall that allowed both parties to complain to one another. Not like it does us much good, anyways. But even if it was too small for somebeast to pass through, perhaps it could be used for something else?

A brilliant idea sparked in her mind. She rushed to the group, shouldering some of them aside before she pushed her face against the little hole.

"Listen. I said listen up!" she hissed. The jabbering idiots quieted down, followed by some scuffling on the other side.

"I want you all t'search the area," she instructed. "Try and see if you can find a loose nail and pull it out without bending it or snapping it or anything."

"And what does this nail have to do with all this?" a male questioned. The cells were too dark to see at the moment, but the proximity of the voice told her that he was right next to the hole.

"Fer picking locks, Smart One," she snapped. "Now hurry up and go look 'round for something useful." There was an uncomfortable pause from the other side as the beast seemed to be stumbling for a reply.

"... Very... well...," he replied in a tight voice. And then he seemed to direct his attention elsewhere. "Brull, Aras, Dirano, Miss Rekkua, would you kindly search the cell over in that area while I search here?"

Well that took care of 'im.

"Is it true, then?" the wolf asked anxiously. Sybil whirled around, edging away as that thing approached her. "Can you really get us out of this place?"

"If I get what I need," the marten answered, once again failing at eye contact. She could almost feel the creature's breath misting over her neck as imaginary fangs began to prick past her skin.

"I have it!" somebeast grunted from the other side.

Sybil checked the distance between the wolf and her before turning back to the hole. "Give it here! Give it here!" she whispered.

"I don't think I can do that," a deep voice rumbled. "The hole's too small."

"Then get somebeast else to do it!" she replied sharply, plunging her own paw in the hole only to find that even her own arm wasn't slim enough. "Dammit," she seethed, frustration bubbling. "Then just throw it over here or something! I-"

"Allow me." The marten looked behind her to see the reviling serpent coiled around the brat's shoulders like a sash. "I believe I can fit right through yon hole and retrieve this treasure with nary a problem." Sybil couldn't help but wrinkle her nose as the snake's tongue flickered out.

"You'd better not lose it," she muttered, stepping aside to make room.

"Zula," it addressed the fox, "would you please step a little closer to the hole?"

"Certainly, Silly!" she said brightly, stepping up to the hole and angling her shoulder to make it easier for the snake. It didn't say anything more, though from the way the tip of its tail was twitching, Sybil could guess it was now quite irritated. Soon enough, the slithering worm had slipped through easily, and now all everybeast could do was wait.

Only when the tip of its scaly tail was the only thing visible did the thief hear the snake's voice. "Greetings fellow-"

"Oh 'Gates!"

"What is that?!"

"Znake?"

"There's been a snake infestation!"

Sybil gave the wall a quick pound. "Will you all shut your snouts? Do you want everybeast to hear you screaming? The snake's with us, s'just give her the nail!"

"If you please," the voice slithered. "I'm only here to retrieve what is needed for our escape."

"Ah... well... thank you for your cooperation in the matter," a voice said smoothly.

There was a moment's pause and then the snake's head appeared out of the hole carrying a rusted nail.

"You did it, Silly!" The brat plucked the metal out of the serpent's mouth in an instant and held it up to her eyes, inspecting it closely- the sharp end pointing at straight her pupil. Sybil was quite tempted to give her head a tight slap to see if the needle and her face would meet.

"Gimme that!" she snapped, swiping the nail from the vixen's paw. She wasted no more time on any of them, getting straight to work on the lock. The rusted metal scraped together, making a tiny irritable noise as she toggled with it, tongue peeking out of the corner of her mouth. Dammit! If this stupid thing was slimmer it would fit better. She jammed it in forcefully, pinching it between her claws so hard that it hurt.

Creak creak creak

The marten couldn't help but wince as the floorboards groaned lightly as somebeast approached her. The last thing she needed now was a distraction.

"Hon," the old hag said. Sybil was now gritting her teeth, wishing she would just stop yammering about things that don't even matter. "I think it would work if you move it around a little to the left and tilt it up... yes. Like that. Now if you could just push it gently like-"

"Will you leave me alone?" she snapped. The marten didn't even look to see the vixen's reaction, but she imagined her crossing her arms and throwing her nose into the air.

"Well," she huffed. "You don't have to be so rude. I was just trying to help. We're all in this together, you know." Thankfully, she backed off after that, leaving her to the frustrating work.

There were suddenly mixed choruses of "Did she get it?" and "Did it work?" from the other room.

"Be quiet!" she barked, her eyes never leaving her task. An uneasy silence crept in after that as the prisoners waited anxiously. But more than once, the thief heard some hushed conversations mediating from her cellmates. The minutes dragged on and she could feel everybeast release their held breath with a sad sigh, accepting the fact that the marten couldn't handle a simple little lock. And now Sybil's paws were slick with sweat, her claws fumbling with the nail as it constantly slipped in her grasp.

She couldn't understand why it wasn't working. It had worked the first time she was in prison all those seasons back, so why wasn't it working now? Was nothing else in her life going to go her way anymore?

The marten bent the nail into the keyhole and wrenched it around, her shoulders shaking violently as she did so.

Dammit dammit dammit! Come on! Unlock ye stupid little piece of-

Click.

---

A gloomy, quiet hall was what greeted Sybil on the other side. Normally she would have appreciated the lack of guards, but this silence made her neckfur stand on end. Cautiously, her other cellmates followed suit, their eyes wide and their heads lowered. In the meantime, the marten was deciding which direction to run. To the left or to the right? Both passages seemed identical- dim and silent.

"Hello?" Somebeast pounded on the other side of the neighboring cell door. "Hello?"

"We should let them out," Pearl advised in a quiet voice.

"Hey! You owe us for that nail," another voice growled in desperation. "You would've never gotten out without us!"

"Quiet!" Sybil hissed, pushing the crooked nail into the keyhole. "Do ye want to make such a racket?"

"We willz if you don't releaze uz like honorable beazt," something snarled in reply. For the way they had been so demanding, the marten considered turning tail and walking off. And she would have done it too, but those beasts inside would scream their lungs out and alert the guards out of sheer spite.

She barely felt the nail shudder as the lock came undone.

In a heartbeat, the door was swung wide open and the beasts came filing out.

The first to slink out was the cat, dressed in a gaudy blue jacket with plenty of shiny buttons. At least, it might have been that way, but now it was rumpled and smudged with so much dirt that it just looked ridiculous. And then came the giant lizard, nearly colliding with a stoat on its way through the door frame. Sybil didn't need to look at its razor claws, wrinkled scales, or that primitive tattoo before she stepped back. All she needed to notice were its yellow, slitted eyes flitting back and forth over the new faces. Even that stoat, as much as he held his head high, seemed intimidated.

"Erm... ladies first," he flustered. Lady? That thing is a lady?! If his politeness was supposed to impress the lizard somehow, he had utterly failed. From its stride, Sybil guessed that "she" would have ruthlessly plowed right through him if he got in her way. It paused at the door, staring the marten up and down, giving her the smallest of nods. Probably agreeing with itself that I'd be tasty. And then Sybil turned her head to watch the reptile as it darted straight for the closest doors and peered through the tiny windows, jabbering in its own weird tongue.

The stoat, however, calmly sauntered through the doorway and greeted them in the same remarkably polite manner.

"Thank you for your assistance, ladies," he said with a bow of his head. "Antonio Calceterre at your service." Oh goody, it's the Smart One.

"You're welcome," the fox brat squeaked. There were a few more scattered responses from each of them, but Sybil kept her silence. If she didn't know any better, he was almost as ridiculous as the cat, wasting time like this. Suddenly, there was a vibration against her footpaw and a terrifying figure emerged from the room, barely squeezing past the door.

Sybil gaped at the towering creature, noting its muzzle full of fangs and bulging muscles. If it wanted to, it could clamp its paw right over her head and crush her skull in the same way one ould crush an egg. The first thing the grizzled beast did was blink at his group of rescuers, angling its ears backwards as it registered the gaping mouths. But frightening as it was, it simply lowered its head and lumbered to an empty space in the hall. From there, it scanned the faces of its new comrades once again. Probably trying to pick out who t'eat first.

And then the creature's eyes fell directly on the marten, lingering for much longer than comfortable. She swallowed back her nervousness, keeping a wary eye on him as she took a few cautious steps back, nearly bumping into the wolf. Upon realization that she was between the two monsters, the marten skittered off to the side, cursing her luck. It just happens to be me that ends up with this lot. I hope they kill each other.

But from the looks of things, that wasn't going to happen. Instead, the wolf wasn't snarling or howling or doing whatever it was that Sybil had predicted. Rather, it was merely staring at the hulking newcomer, tilting its head to the side in a curious manner as the massive beast did the same.

"YOU!"

Sybil nearly jumped out of her fur at the outburst, spinning around to see Pearl and the cat facing each other, both of them wearing sour expressions. Are you all out of your minds? She opened her mouth, but somebeast beat her to it.

"Are you both insane?" A large rat brushed past her shoulder and marched right up to the two. "Do you want every single woodlander in this tavern to know we've escaped? I don't care if you're friends and I don't care if you rip each other's throats out, but not now." The vixen was the first to react, flicking her tail as she turned her nose to the air.

"You're just lucky that I don't have time to waste on the likes of you," the cat spat before rounding on the nosy rodent. "And you, don't tell me what to do."

"As I said before," the rat replied, tail sliding across the floor in an agitated manner, "I don't think I want to waste my time beating the fur off anybeast right now- especially prissy good-for-nothings." Sybil saw the cat's whiskers twitch before he surrendered with an audible sniff and turned away.

"Now then," the rat continued, turning to the onlookers. "If we're going to get out, we have to go together. There's safety in numbers, so let's just go." Normally, Sybil would have shrugged him off for another typical bossy male, but when he turned his head to talk to the stoat, she swore her heart stopped.

Is that...?

He was still speaking, but his words were nothing to her. All she could focus on was his voice. Every second, it became more and more familiar to her and the doubts began to ebb away.

Brull.

She hardly noticed when the group began to move on. Quickly, she ducked right beside the old vixen as Brull strode past her and to the front, the stoat and the lizard following closely behind. She released her held breath. It seemed that he hadn't noticed her at all. But since when did he get here? Of all beasts I have to see in my life, that rat-

"Oomf!" She was so immersed in her thoughts that she bumped right into the hulking monster. She expected some enraged snarl or roar from it, but the savage ignored her completely as if it hadn't even felt her. Instead, it was standing still and swiveling its head like an idiot while everybeast moved on.

"Listen," it growled to nobeast in particular. "Hear that? It sounds like... fighting."