Dungeon 42

Heart of Flint

Melek could count on her paws how many times her colony had chosen to try something new instead of hiding in the hills and continuing on as usual. It wasn't a bad way of living, they got on well enough, but gods was it grindingly boring. That her life was rapidly becoming a cautionary tale about ignoring her elders didn't change her opinion on the matter.

The white cloaked men who'd hunted the rabbits hadn't been after her, just too close to the colony. Lookers or something the males had called them. Said they were shit hunters but had dogs. Dogs were definitely more of a threat than humans.

The men able to hunt were out doing just that and wouldn't be back for a few days. The colony was undefended and full of early season pups. The other females, injured males, and elders wouldn't be able to move easily.

She could have escaped all the same, run off and just hoped they didn't catch a scent leading back to the colony. Instead she'd rolled around in the dirt and scrub then gotten upwind to make sure they caught hers and didn't let them lose it despite her lead.

Her plan, which it was kind to call as such, was to lead them to the colony's hunters and let them sort it out. She'd get a cuffing for having wandered out without permission, but probably a bit of extra jerky too for having looked after the colony too.

Abandoning the cart had hurt. All that careful stealing, all those quiet months sneaking behind the elders' backs, gone. Not as bad as her legs hurt, they burned as she climbed higher into the hills. The terrain was rough, she'd have preferred shifting into her full fur, but the donkey would probably stomp her if she did. It had taken weeks to get it to accept her as she was, it was still wary of her as a full coyote.

She found a watering hole and let go of the Donkey's lead. It would see to itself well enough with water near. She drank first, then got back to running. She'd come back for it later.

Once a decent distance off, she shifted, able to move more easily on all fours, and her smaller frame better able to navigate narrow places. Howling, she listened, hoping the hunters were near enough to hear her. She was in the general area they'd said they'd be near but they could range far depending on prey.

No howls replied. She yapped her displeasure and loped on, keeping the humans in white behind her. She had to keep them close, but not too close. If they lost interest, the whole game fell apart. It worked in her favor, though. She could snatch moments of rest here and there, so long as she kept them in sight.

She considered it a stroke of luck that they were stupid or didn't understand how to train dogs properly. If they'd just let theirs loose it would have caught up to her quickly and with its brutish body it would have been dangerous to her in any form. Instead they kept it close, just using it to scent.

With the wind at her, back she didn't realize anything was wrong until she dodged between a pair of boulders. Something dazzled her eyes for a moment, a strange shimmering, and then she found herself looking at a pair of human men. She yelped, scrabbling to a stop, her bladder emptying in anticipation of violence.

There was no good path. Forward meant running between them, and behind her were the ones in white.

"On with you miss, our business is with the lot behind you," one of them, the smaller less armored one, said. They were both looking past her, toward the ones in white.

Melek didn't trust them but ran forward, hoping she'd be fast enough to dodge if more waited in ambush. She passed by two more, scent impressions rather than real looks, then the third caused her to nearly stumble. She got low, sidling away as the scent of dog but cleaner washed over her.

His bright eyes took her in for a moment and let out a soft playful wuf as she passed, but didn't linger on her as she slinked past. Bright silver fur instead of hair, with tall ears. A demi human.

Feet back under her, she made for a ridge and a little shelf that would hide her and be difficult for the men to climb up. The panic had robbed her of strength. She needed to catch her breath somewhere safe and let the shaking leave her limbs.

By the time she was hidden, she looked back and saw the lookers approaching the other men with a kind of ease that didn't make sense. Their dog was also gone. Not killed or run off nearby, just gone. It was strange to watch.

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She had to wonder if the men behind the boulders didn't understand who the ones in white were. If they thought they'd be able to talk despite having a demi-human in their numbers. That or if she was about to watch a betrayal. She might not have seemed worth the effort of catching, but she couldn't quite believe that.

The gold eyed man had been too at ease to be a captive and it would be foolish to let him be free in the moments before the hand over. Ears flattened and heart hammering, she watched, not sure what was going on.

The ones behind the boulders got up and took different stances as the ones in white approached. Not friendly. Not open. Stances like soldiers, not travelers. Yet, insanely, the second group continued forward as if nothing was amiss. As if they couldn't see a damned thing despite their name.

Something shimmered as they passed between the boulders, the men leading the ones in white finally pausing, as if surprised. They didn't get time to do anything but stare.

The largest of the ambush group, broad and carrying a maul the size of Melek's torso, stepped forward. He didn't swing so much as drop his weapon onto one of the white-cloaks, like he was cracking a nut. He crumpled without a sound. No blood sprayed. Just a wet sound and sudden stillness.

The one who'd spoken to her, dark-haired, still-faced, moved like water. One strike from his sword, precise and underhanded, and his opponent folded forward onto the blade.

She didn't see the arrow. Just the result, the man on the far left snapped backward, his hand fluttering up to the shaft protruding from his throat before he collapsed twitching.

The last one had just enough time to realize what was happening. He turned to run and managed a single step before a curved blade flashed in the sun, then buried itself in the soft spot beneath the man's ribs. He looked down dumbly at the knife in his chest, already dead before he completed the motion, and fell.

It was over.

Melek didn't move. She barely breathed.

The five men stood where they'd been, adjusting straps, cleaning edges, one of them idly checking a page in a book without having moved an inch the whole time.

None of them said anything.

Melek swallowed, slowly. Her ears twitched once, involuntarily. She wasn't sure if what she'd seen had been a fight or a massacre. It didn't particularly matter in the end, but she had to wonder how well the hunters of her colony would have done against the ones in white.

She followed them after, but not because she wanted to say thank you. She didn't understand why they'd done as they had. The men in white had died, but probably not for her. This group hadn't even made a token effort to look for her afterward.

She shadowed them most of the day, just to be sure they wouldn't circle back. They didn't. The men moved to the scrub land below the hill to set up camp. She found her donkey where she'd left it and waited until dusk to bring it down.

She hadn't had a plan. Not until she found her cart waiting by the road. Looking through it she found not just what she'd left, but a bit extra. More water and jerky. Things not easily tainted without leaving sign, and a dagger that showed bright in the moonlight when she drew it. She didn't test the edge, knowing it was sharp just by the clean edge.

All of it smelled like the dog, he'd placed it and marked the ground but not her cart itself. Giving but not claiming it as his own.

Melek gave a soft bark of laughter and shook her head.

"Polite bastard," she muttered, setting her paws to the road.

She found the camp with ease, the scent of smoke carrying further than the glow of the small fire. They'd chosen a covered place where larger stones created a break in the scrubs and sheltered a clean patch of sand. The sort of place that held heat easily. She got close, not enough to be seen or even see them, just to know her mark would carry on the wind.

She found a comfortable place and settled nearby, not hidden.

He came when the moon was halfway up. No armor, no weapon in hand, just a bedroll under one arm. Just walked into her periphery like he'd been waiting for the air to shift. Letting it warn her so she wouldn't be startled because his steps were near soundless even in the quiet night.

The silver of his fur seemed to glow under the double moons. A faint smirk tucked into one corner of his mouth like he was keeping a joke to himself. She waited until he laid out the bedroll before shifting to her skin. She hadn't needed or expected one, but there was no reason to refuse since it was offered.

He was tall up close, she hardly came up to his shoulder as they circled and scented each other for a few moments. More custom and instinct than needed at this point, but calming. A welcome slowness to start even though she already knew he was strong and willing.

He crossed the space between them with the same quiet confidence he'd moved in approaching her, loose and low. Like there was no rush to anything.

They came together then and it was strange, but not in unwelcome ways. He'd taken human lovers and it showed. Her claws pressed lightly into his shoulder once, a silent signal. He shifted his weight in answer, adjusting to her without protest or hesitation. Strong, but not selfish.

"Pretty," he muttered once. Voice like dry grass and smoke.

When it was done, which took longer than she expected, they didn't curl together. She felt affectionate enough to groom him a little but moved away, giving him space. He stared at the stars through the brush overhead, then looked at her with an expression that radiated satisfaction before getting up and walking off.

Melek watched him go, wondering if he was going to realize he was naked any time soon. After a bit of mischief took over and she rolled his kilt into the bedroll. She took a strap in her mouth after shifting into her fur again and set off at a trot for her cart. If pups came of it she'd make sure to expect strong but maybe a little dim.