Disclaimer: All non-original characters are property of SEGA or their respective creators.

17. Night Moves

"Psst…Ma?" whispered Silver, gently shaking his sleeping mother. She didn't stir.

The ten-year-old bit his lip. He'd been given strict instructions not to leave the tent unaccompanied after dark. However, Lobo and Lupe were in their own tent, and he wasn't sure he could hold it much longer.

"Ma?" he said, fractionally louder. Still nothing.

Silver eyed the tent's entrance in the flickering candlelight. It wasn't as if he'd ignored his mother's instructions, was it? He had at least tried to wake her up. And just how likely was she to wake up of her own accord? It wasn't like he needed to go far out there.

Standing up, the albino hedgehog wrapped himself in his mother's teal cloak — it was warmer than his own — and tiptoed around the futon they were sharing. Upon reaching the tent's entrance, he cast a nervous glance back at the sleeping Amaranth, then ducked out between the canvas flaps.

Outside, the grass was moist underfoot. Shivering slightly, Silver plodded off into the darkness. He listened keenly to the flow of the nearby stream to keep track of where he was. Just a little further and all would be well.

Just then, a muscular arm grabbed him around the chest. Before he could scream, a hand covered his mouth.

жЖж

Whisp winced as an anguished howl resounded around her master's longhouse.

"Be careful, little one," said the swarthy hyena Tenebris, handing the wolf a wooden pale of hot water fresh off the fire, "Take that to your master."

With a stiff nod, Whisp hugged the warm bucket as she turned around. Trying not to inhale too much steam, she started across the longhouse's shadowy communal area. The space was only lit by the brazier in the central firepit near the door.

It was strange for her to still be awake so late after dark, but then, no one was sleeping in the she-wolves' dormitory tonight. Edda's cub was on its way.

Whisp had spent most of the evening at her friend's side, quietly holding her hand while the other slaves circled, giving contradictory advice and arguing among themselves about their advice's usefulness.

Nearing the firepit, an almighty yawn overcame Whisp. A mouthful of steam came with it. The bucket tilted as she coughed, sloshing hot water on the tail of a lounging hyena. The mercenary roared in pain and rounded on the wolf.

"Don't even think about it, Gevlekt!" barked Tenebris, running to Whisp's defense.

With a gentle push from the hyena matriarch, the wolf went on her way. Another anguished howl emanated from the dormitory as she approached the doorway. The figure of a cobalt bat stopped her from seeing inside.

"Master?" she said, holding out the bucket, "I brought the water, master."

"So you did," said Gordian, turning to face her, "There's a good pup."

The broad-snouted bat bent down to take the bucket.

"Off you go now," he said, straightening up.

Whisp frowned, pointing a limp finger at the dormitory. "B-but master…Edda—"

"You've helped her quite enough," said Gordian, "I still need someone to feed the chickens, after all."

"Yes, master," muttered the wolf, "But…where?"

"Macrina tells me you were always a resourceful cub. You'll find somewhere in here, I'm sure."

Whisp's shoulders slouched in defeat as she watched the bat disappear inside the dormitory. Reluctantly, she turned away. Over by the firepit, meanwhile, a confrontation seemed to be brewing. Tenebris and the hyena with the wet tail were staring each other down. Their fellow mercenaries looked on, rapt.

The wolf sighed, despairing at the prospect of things getting even noisier. Then, she noticed the longhouse's door. It was unguarded.

жЖж

"My lady?"

Amaranth blinked awake.

"Lupe?" she breathed, seeing the gray she-wolf's face in the flickering candlelight.

She went to sit up. She felt the keen edge of a blade pressing against her neck.

"L-Lupe?"

The she-wolf was impassive.

"Forgive us, mistress."

Unable to move her head, Amaranth's eyes darted to the left. Lobo was standing by the tent's entrance. He held the gagged Silver in his arms.

"We won't be returning to Dalriada with you, my lady," said Lupe levelly, applying a little more pressure to her knife to get the hedgehog's attention.

Amaranth's first instinct was to clutch her abdomen, but feared any sudden movement might startle the wolves.

"Please don't kill me," she whimpered, voice trembling.

"She won't, mistress," said Lobo.

"Then…why this?"

"You once saved Lobo's life," said Lupe, "At his request, I now spare yours. His debt to you is repaid."

Amaranth nodded as firmly as the blade at her throat would allow.

"Go," she whimpered, tears welling.

The she-wolf held the hedgehog's moist gaze for a long moment. Slowly, she withdrew her knife and backed away to her husband's side.

"Thank you for everything, mistress," said Lobo, "It's been my honor to serve you. Truly."

The brown wolf dropped Silver and ducked out of the tent after Lupe. In the same instant, Amaranth jumped up from her futon and scrambled across the tent. She swept her son up in her arms and clutched him to her bare breast. For several minutes, he wept like a hungry hoglet, not even thinking to remove the gag.

"Hush now, Silver," cooed Amaranth eventually, "They're gone. You're safe."

Despite the firmness of her embrace, the ten-year-old managed to tug down his gag.

"No, we're not," he whimpered, "Not here."

He peered up at his mother.

"Please, Ma. Take me home."

"We can speak to Perci in the morn—agh!"

Amaranth winced as Silver seized two handfuls of her cerise fur.

"Not in the morning!" he hissed, glaring at her with bloodshot eyes, "Please, Ma. I just want to see Pa."

жЖж

"How can Red Eye see anything through this?" mused Gao to himself, holding a ruby shard up to his eye as he squinted at the stars.

The young wolf was lying on the planks outside his hillside shack. His master's flock were scattered around the surrounding grasslands.

"Gao?"

The slave tensed, clutching the ruby shard to his chest as he looked up. The trinket landed in his lap as he sat up, watching a certain golden she-wolf clamber up onto the shack's stoop.

"Wh-Whisp?" he gasped, getting to his feet, "Wh-when did…"

He trailed off. She didn't seem especially happy to see him. Belatedly, he noticed her eyeing the ruby shard at his feet.

"I haven't been wearing it, I promise," he gibbered, snatching it up, "I only took it out to look at it."

"It doesn't matter," mumbled Whisp, eyes still downcast.

"Huh?"

"Red Eye can't help us…no one can."

"Whisp? What're you talking about?"

The she-wolf looked up. "I saw warriors arrive today. Lots of them. There was…I saw an Erinian."

Gao blenched. "A real one?"

Whisp nodded.

"Was it… him?"

"No…but I heard them say his name."

Gao recoiled. "Does that mean…he's coming?"

Whisp suddenly flopped onto her backside. "Why does it matter? We're not going to be able to keep our promise in any case."

"Is that…really so bad?" said Gao, dropping to his knees, "We'll still be together, won't we?"

"How can you say that?" snapped Whisp, hugging her belly, "We made a promise!"

"I've not kept every promise I ever made—"

"This one was different."

"Was it? It's not like the cub will know."

"But we will," sniffled Whisp, hanging her head, "I just…I thought we could do it, Gao. I really did."

With that, words failed the she-wolf as tears began to flow. Gao moved in to hug her, resting his muzzle on her shoulder. He was desperate to talk to their cub before she had to leave, but he'd learned when his friend — no, his mate — needed him to just keep quiet.

жЖж

"Khan, blow that thing in here and you'll be farting out of it tomorrow," said Percilla.

Across the table from the lilac bandicoot, the brown monkey slowly put down the oxhorn trumpet he'd been repairing.

"Thank you," said Percilla, "Save it for sunrise. Even Gordian shouldn't be able to hit you from…"

She trailed off as she saw Khan's head tilt, presumably to see past her. She looked over her shoulder. Someone was drawing back their tent's flaps.

"Sorry to barge in," said Amaranth as she ducked inside.

"Not at all," said Percilla, standing up.

She took a moment to look the cerise hedgehog over. Only then did she notice Amaranth had Silver on her back. His face was buried in his mother's quills.

"Is something wrong, Amie?" asked the bandicoot.

"I need to go," said Amaranth, "Back to Dalriada."

Percilla frowned. "Why?"

"I'm pregnant."

Silver's head suddenly shot up, bloodshot eyes wide open. The bandicoot wasn't sure what to think. The boy looked more surprised than she was. Didn't he know?

"Congratulations," she said warmly, approaching the hedgehogs, "Come to think of it, the queen did only ever say you had to escort the wagons down here. Khan will get one ready for you and the wolves to take back tomorrow."

"I will?" Khan piped up.

"Yes, you will," said Percilla pointedly, "Your job isn't only to blow that damned—"

"A wagon won't be necessary," said Amaranth.

The bandicoot looked back round. "What? Why not?"

The cerise hedgehog lowered her gaze.

"I let Lupe and Lobo go."

жЖж

Whisp awoke with a start, roused by the low rumbling blast of an oxhorn trumpet.

She was in the shed in the longhouse's yard where the animal feed was kept. It was smelly, particularly for her canine nose, but she'd been too tired to care when she finally slunk back from seeing Gao. Rubbing her eyes, she shuffled towards the door. She and her cub would need to eat before the chickens did.

Stumbling into the yard, she idly rubbed the spot on her tunic where Gao had nuzzled her bump last night. Remembering what he'd said brought a melancholy smile to her lips. He'd told the cub how its parents were going to teach it everything they knew about lambing, shearing, herding, and generally looking after sheep.

It didn't sound like such a bad life for a cub, the way he'd framed it. Assuming their overseer Macrina let them go on living in their shack, that is. Therein lay the problem. She and Gao were the lucky ones. Poor Edda's cub hadn't come about from snuggling up with her best friend, trying to help each other stay warm on a windy winter night.

She flinched as another trumpet blast resounded across the barren plain. Flattening her ears, she wandered round to the other side of the longhouse. In the dawn light, she saw a solitary horse trotting out of the warriors' camp over by the stream. It was ridden by a brown monkey.

Someone was walking behind the horse. Not willingly, it seemed. The rope binding their wrists was tied to the horse's saddle. There was a separate length of rope tied around the prisoner's waist, the other end of which was binding the wrists of someone else. Someone much smaller.

Whisp's jaw sagged. The prisoners were hedgehogs…Erinians.