A Felon's Tale Chapter 2

 "Do we have everything?" Gregory asked, leaning against the trunk of a tree and kicking at the snow.

       "I think we do," replied Demitri. "What do you think, Hephaestus?"

       I answered without pulling my attention from the pack in which I was rummaging. "I don't see anything."

       "Well, of course you don't see what we're missing," said Gregory. "If we don't have it, how could you see it?"

       I turned to him slowly. Gregory wore a smart-aleck smirk while Demitri shifted awkwardly from foot to foot, torn between chuckling and avoiding my gaze. "Oh, really?" I said with raised eyebrow, reaching my hand into the snow at my feet. "Then are we missing this?"

       I flung the snowball at him, striking him in the shoulder as he turned to avoid it. With a breathless grin he scooped up more snow and returned fire, warranting my retaliation. As I clambered into a standing position and he backpedaled to duck behind a tree, keeping up our flow of airborne snow, Demitri finally chose to laugh. Gregory and I exchanged a glance; in unison we threw our projectiles at my brother, and an instant later snow was flying through the air in an all-out melee. Before I knew it I was on the ground again, ducking and sweeping more supplies into my arms. I threw blindly, unable to keep the grin from my face even as I felt my clothes becoming wetter and wetter from assaulting blizzard.

       "Ahem."

      The three of us froze. Before us stood a proud fae, her solid black coat stark against the sunlit snow. One of her elegant eyebrows lifted as she said, "Having fun?"

      Recovering from our dumb stares, Gregory, Demitri, and I scrambled belatedly to our feet and wiped snow from out clothes nonchalantly. "Oh, h-hey, Jewel," stuttered Demitri with a forced chuckle, "we were just...uh -"

      "Being males?" Blush accented his smile, which had become sheepish. Jewel dismissed the matter with a wave of her tail. "Are all of the supplies in order?"

       "Uh - er, yes." I forced myself to move, albeit jumpily, and pick up our pack, holding it out helpfully. "I made certain we had everything."

       Jewel gave us a business-like nod. "Great. Let's go."

       I handed the bag to Demitri, who buckled the straps around his arms and chest and became a wolf. Gregory and I shapeshifted as well, and our party of four travelled deeper into the forest, heading for the territory's boundary.

       Skeletal trees stretched high above us, doing little to filter the sunlight that gleamed on the frozen ground. Tentatively I admired the way it made Jewel's coat shine, accenting the black with highlights of ethereal quality. The fae's slender musculature caused the sheen to become ever-changing as it provided her her strong, confident movements. Her self-assurance was reflected in the eyes set like liquid gold orbs in that ebony face, like topaz treasures buried amongst the deepest soot, like -

       - like the eyes of a beautiful fae turning towards me.

       I jerked my gaze away and stared straight ahead as she asked, "Do you think the cave will have been blocked by the snow, Hephaestus?" Coming from her lips, the disgusting name sounded like praise from the sweetest angel.

       "Er, uh...well...." I looked up at the bright mid-morning sky. "The snow fell rather steadily all night and all of yesterday, but I doubt it was enough to cover the entrance. I think it would take a blizzard to make it truly inaccessible."

       She nodded thoughtfully. "Those are my thoughts as well. I suppose we will have to wait until we arrive to see if we're right."

       I simply mimicked her, my head bobbing without any true notion as to why. Her voice lulled me into a state of hypnotism that forced me to concentrate in order to grasp the meaning of what she was saying. A nip at my tail yanked my from my foggy-minded doze; I spun around to see Demitri's implying frown warning me to keep my head.Grudgingly I growled under my breath and continued along the trail.

       Our travels spanned throughout the day and into the sunset, taking us from the outskirts of the village to the farthest reaches of the Sanguem's territory. As dusk fell we finally reached the halfway point of our journey - a cavern that had been gouged out of a rise in the forest floor, edged with boulders, ice, and - in the warmer months - abundant plant life, which kept it hidden from most unheeding eyes. We ducked into the shelter and Demitri deposited the pack, rummaging through it in his human form. "Who's on firewood duty?" he asked.

       "I"ll do it," said Gregory, also becoming human and leaping to his feet.His eyes strayed toward Jewel, searching for approval and admiration.

       Seeing this, I countered, "Then I'll catch dinner. Prey will likely be scarce around here this time of winter, but I'll try my hardest to find enough for us, even if it means taking the smallest share."

       "Okay," agreed Demitri. "That leaves Jewel and me to watch the cave."

       My proud countenance fell. "On second though, maybe you should hunt, Demitri. You're better than I am. I can stay here with Jewel."

       "No, you should probably get the firewood, Heph," said Gregory. I bristled involuntarily. "Your arms are longer, so you can carry more wood. I'll watch the cave with Jewel."

       "No, no, I know how restless you'll get if you sit around here all night." I waved him off. "Gathering wood will give you some good exercise."

       "Why don't we just stick to the original plan?" suggested Demitri.

       "What, do you want us to do all of the work?" Gregory replied.

       "Boys!" interrupted Jewel, rolling her eyes. We immediately fell silent. "Instead of having two of us working and two of us here, let's split up and give all of us something to do.This old cave has been fine without us since our last visit; it doesn't need to be monitored. So let's bring the backpack with us so nothing happens to it and we'll gather what we need."

       "But who will do what?" asked Demitri.

       "You and Gregory can gather firewood. Since our adult ceremonies are only a few months away, Hephaestus and I will get food so we can practice our skills in hunting as a pair. Is that okay?" she said, looking at each of us in turn. I resisted the urge to nod too quickly, not wanting to appear eager; Demitri mumbled a resigned agreement and Gregory shot me a grudging look when Jewel had turned away.

       We split into our assigned pairs and padded back into the dusky forest. Jewel was an excellent tracker, and an even better huntress – within a few short minutes we had discovered the trail of a young doe, and not long after that we came face-to-face with the animal itself. We employed a common strategy used when hunting with only two 'wolves; Jewel moved upwind of the deer, distracting it with her scent and movement while I swept in from behind for the kill. When the deed had been done we converged over the carcass and began dragging it to camp.

       "That was a very nice take down," said Jewel as she adjusted her hold on the deer's foreleg. I struggled not to drop my side, caught off guard by the compliment.

       "Oh, uh, well...uh...thanks," I replied after placing the hoof in the snow in order to speak. "You were great at – er – distracting it, too."

       She chuckled, leaving me unsure of whether she was appreciative of the comment or laughing at my lack of eloquence. I never found out, for the deer in our mouths prevented any further conversation until we had reached the cave. Gregory and Demitri had only just arrived; I commenced to skinning and cleaning our catch while they built a fire.

       We ate and chatted before retiring, stocking up on our rest for the remainder of the trip ahead. I lingered after everyone else had fallen asleep, admiring the play of the smoldering embers on the walls, the blue glow of the moon's gaze on the snow, and the peaceful expression that adorned Jewel's face as she slept. At last drowsiness overcame me, and I joined my companions in oblivion.

       When morning arose we did as well, cleaning up camp by the murky light of the twilit dawn and setting off on the continuation of our journey. The small talk of the day before dwindled, fading beneath the tension of crossing our home's border. We kept a keen eye and a pricked ear, for as the day wore on we passed into human territory. By late afternoon the forest had become thin and marked with signs of their activity, and when the sun was low on the horizon we were gazing from our tree cover at the task at hand.

       Blunt man-made structures rose up before us, half hidden by the snow at their eaves. The little farm's occupants could be heard in the barn, securing the livestock, and in the pantry at the back of the house, organizing shelves. Their scents and that of their animals dominated the air, and among this potpourri was an ingredient we dreaded to find.

       "Dog," growled Gregory.

       "They didn't have a dog before," said Demitri.

       "They must have caught on to us," I replied, scanning the scene for any sign of the creature. "But it's nothing we can't handle."

       Jewel did not seem as sure. "We can handle a dog, yes, but I don't think we want to handle it. Coming into contact with that dog would alert the humans and compromise any chance of doing this undetected."

       "But would it be so bad if they knew we were here after we've finished?" asked Gregory.

       "They'll add precautions to protect against us next time, " Jewel told him. "It could mean fences, alarms –"

       "More dogs," I added.

       "Right," said Demitri. "That's what we'll do, then – avoid the dog at all costs."

       "And if that doesn't happen?" asked Gregory.

       "What else? We run." My head bobbed along with Jewel's in agreement.

       I ducked into the low doorway of the coop, pausing to let my eyes adjust to the dim light. Round, feathered shapes appeared out of the darkness, perched securely upon their nests. Stepping further amongst the shelves of chickens, I appraised each as I passed and noted which looked best fit to take. The soft clucking around me grew nervous, as though the birds sensed my intentions.

       I hushed them gently. "No need to worry, my hens. I am not the vicious coyote that preys in the night. I won't destroy your nests, or slaughter your fellows. I will only take what I need and be on my way." My voice did little to calm them; a grounded hen scurried away from my path, fluttering its wings.

       This sort of domestic hunt brought to me a tranquility that could not be matched, and in this cool manner I chose the victims of my passover, killed them swiftly, and took the eggs from their nests to place them in a protective box. Then, with my prizes slung over my shoulder and tucked under my arm, I left the chicken coop as quietly as I had come, meeting Demitri at the side of the barn to place them in the backpack. Apprehension took hold of me again, returning me to the reality of the raid we were performing.

       "Where are Gregory and Jewel?" I asked.

       "Finishing up in the pantry, I think," he replied, glancing at the house as he shouldered the pack. The twilight had almost faded, and the reflection of the low moonlight off the snow provided the only light source.

       "They had better hurry," I said. "There's only a matter of time before that dog catches wind of us."

       Even as I spoke the two in question appeared in the window of the pantry, the first - Jewel, by the length of her hair and shape of her body - working her way over the sill and out into the snow. As Gregory handed her the sack of herbs and vegetables, a crisp wind blew past, freezing solid the four of us as it undoubtedly carried out scent to the farm's guardian.

       "Hurry!" I heard Jewel hiss.

       Woof. Woof!

       The beast appeared at the far end of the house, its teeth bared and hackles lifted. Gregory began to scramble to force himself through the window as it launched itself toward them, gathering speed at the rate its barks gathered volume.

       "Head for the forest. We'll meet you there," I told Demitri, and with no further explanation I dove forward, hitting the snow as a wolf and barreling to intercept the dog.

       Its bark became a yelp as flung myself into its shoulder, sending it sprawling amongst a flurry of snow. I moved to attack again as it recovered, but the snap of its jaws close to my face deterred me. The dog sprang to its feet and lunged at my side, engaging me in a struggle of grappling fangs and claws.

       Dimly the clack of a shutting window reached my ears and muffled footsteps rushed by, accompanied by a voice calling my name. I paid no heed; I was engrossed in the defeat of my opponent. I rose to my hind feet and wrapped my long forelegs around the dog's neck, succeeding in slamming it into the snow. Avoiding its thrashing limbs, I pinned it with a paw and swooped downward to deliver the death blow.

       BANG.

       The deafening sound and explosion of snow near my face jerked me out of my fervor, whipping me around to face the human that had created it. With a sharp click-click he reloaded the shotgun and aimed it at me again. I wasted no time in racing for the trees, leaping away from the second gunshot that nipped at my heels. Ears ringing, I reached the safety of the forest and rejoined my companions, and together we fled towards the safety of the territory of the Sanguem Lupem.