They were terrified that we were just jumping out of the frying pan and into the fire—and in their eyes, we were the fire.
"You think we’re just going to make a ss and vanish, leaving you to clean up the blood," I said, my voice grounding and calm. I understood the dilemma. Why trust the ’new’ monsters to fight the ’old’ monsters?
I walked over to Damar and Fenric, standing between them and the rabbits to act as a bridge.
"Listen," I said, looking the elder in the eye. "We didn’t co here to start a war, but we did take your offering. We don’t leave debts unpaid. We aren’t just going to ’scuffle’ and leave. If we deal with these Martens, we’re going to make sure they never think about touching a single rabbit again."
We shall beco the nightmare of those arrogant creatures.
Fenric crossed his arms, his broad fra casting a long shadow over the grass under the shadow of the moon.
"Besides," he added, his voice a low rumble. "I don’t like the taste of being called a thief. If soone’s going to collect a ’tribute’ in this forest, they’re going to have to go through first."
Damar didn’t say anything, but he reached down and picked up one of the colorful feathers from the grass, twirling it between his fingers before letting the wind take it.
The rabbits huddled together, whispering frantically. It was a gamble—stay with the devil they knew, or trust the three strangers who had just arrived from the ’dying side’ of the world.
Finally, the boy looked up, his little nose twitching. "The Flat Rock is only ten minutes away," he whispered. "If we don’t go now... they’ll co looking for us anyway."
The elder sighed, a sound of pure defeat and desperate hope.
"Follow us. But please... if it goes wrong... run. Don’t let them follow you back to the burrows."
"You got it."
I understood his fears. If they found out that the rabbits were the ones who called us to take care of them and for so unknown reason we failed, it would be the end for them.
But well, I don’t think we’ll fail.
This might be dangerous, but I feel so confident. This must the was energy in spiraling out of control.
The quest to be adventurous was stronger than I thought.
"Arinya," Fenric called and I turned my head to look at him. "Just stay behind us. We don’t want them getting near you."
"Don’t worry. I’m not so weak that a few weasels could leave a scratch on ."
Though I was a female, I was a tiger before I was a female. And there was no way a tiger could cower in the presence of a stone Martine.
"Just watch how I handle it." I said, showing the flat muscles on my arms and Damar dropped his hand on my shoulder.
"Ari, instead of charging in with us, why don’t you stand guard so neither of them escapes." He said and I thought about it.
If I was going to stand guard then they would have most of the fun. I’m pretty sure they wouldn’t let a single weasel crawl past them.
"That’s a great idea." Fenric said, and I looked at the both of them, their eyes too eager to be ’helping’. They definitely wanted to leave out of the action.
I sighed, shrugging my shoulders.
Well, I guess there’s no reason to throw away caution now.
"Alright, alright, I’ll stand guard." I said, dropping my hands on my waist and huffing with my chin proudly in the air.
They both exchanged glances and I was sure I heard them chuckle but when I looked back, they held straight faces.
I narrowed my eyes in suspicion but whatever.
"Follow ," the elder rabbit whispered, his voice shaking as he signaled for us to move.
The rabbits led us through a dense thicket of ferns, their long ears swiveling at every snap of a twig. We moved like ghosts through the green woods. The air grew thinner and colder as we climbed a slight incline, the lush grass giving way to jagged, moss-covered stones.
"There," the elder breathed, crouching behind a massive fallen log. "The Flat Rock."
Hm, it didn’t look much like a rock but I guess they just call it that because of all the rocks around. I think I can even see listone. If they have this many listones then they can very much build houses from scratch. And I don’t an wooden huts but brick houses.
Does anyone know of this yet?
It doesn’t look like the Storm Martens use the rocks and I don’t think the rabbits do either. But maybe if we visit more tribes along the way, we can find places where they build real houses.
Civilization stretches the farther we go. It’s amazing.
"Ari," Damar called, noticing I was absent-minded, and I waved it off.
"It’s fine. I’m fine. Was thinking of sothing for a mont there, haha."
I was excited. I just can’t wait to see real houses. And maybe I can find tribes that actually use fire to cook or bake.
My heart was thumping, but I quickly cald myself. If I get too excited now, thinking only the best awaits , then the disappointnt of not finding what I’m looking for will be devastating.
"Once we are past this point, we will be on the path that leads directly to where the Stone-Martens live." Gram explained.
Then, I noticed the young boy slowly edge closer to .
He was still trembling, his ears pressed flat against his spine, but there was a flicker of sothing new in his eyes. Hope, maybe. Or just the realization that his life was now in the hands of three strangers.
"Are you afraid?" I asked and he nodded, without a single hesitation. "Ah, that reminds . We didn’t have any introductions. What’s your na?"
"I’m... I’m Dani," he whispered, so low I almost missed it. He looked up at , his nose twitching a mile a minute. "And that’s my father, Gram. He’s the elder of our burrow."
The older rabbit looked back, his face a mask of worry, but he gave a stiff nod. It was a brave gesture. Even though they were terrified, they wanted us to know who they were. They weren’t just ’rabbits’ or ’the tribute’—they were people.
"I’m Arinya," I whispered back, giving Dani’s shoulder a gentle squeeze. "And those two over there are Damar and Fenric. Don’t worry, they don’t bite unless I tell them to."
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