"This is as far as I'll go Renn," Lilly said.
I shifted on a heel, to look at her. She was serious.
"Why? Surely saying hello before returning ho isn't..." I stopped talking, as I realized the look on her face.
"For the sa reason we rounded Bordu instead of going through it," she said.
"Hm... are there that many humans there?" I asked. There were several buildings; most were in the center of the wheat fields. One had a red roof, and was the largest. Maybe many humans lived there?
"No... not usually," she said gently.
"I see."
Lilly smiled at , and then extended her hand. "It was a pleasure to et you Renn. May we et again soday," she said.
Taking her hand I nodded. "Yes. Thank you. I learned... a lot," I said.
She smirked as our hands left the clasp. "You sure asked a lot! Goodbye Renn. Make sure you tell Vim I was the one who guided you," she said.
"I will! Thank you, really," I said, and ant it. Truly, truly ant it.
Lilly turned, and headed back towards the section of forest we had just left.
It wasn't her forest but it was dense all the sa. Perfect for her to traverse and head ho, to her nest and husband, without needing to worry about running into any random humans.
"Thank you!" I said again, louder. She waved at but didn't turn around.
"Really, thank you," I said once more, and wished I knew how to properly convey to soone how precious their efforts were to .
She had not only guided to the town, but had spent the last two days teaching well of the Society... stuff that Lughes and Crane really had not been forthcoming about. Lilly had been not just open but wanted to learn as much as I could.
Looking back before , at the buildings where the Fox family and Snake family lived, I wondered if there was sothing deeper to Lilly's aversion of eting them.
Maybe she had used the humans here as an excuse. She had not shown any avarice towards Vim, but that didn't an she was on friendly terms with anyone else here...
Deciding not to worry about it, I hurried towards the path that led to the buildings. It looked to be dirt and gravel, but it was large. Large enough for carts.
There weren't any carts, or people, upon it now... but that was undoubtedly because of how early in the morning it was. The sun had only just risen.
It didn't take long for to reach the path, and I was a little surprised to find how tall so of the wheat was. Most of the field was as tall as I was, and so was even taller.
Wasn't it winter? There wasn't any snow falling right now, but it was only a few days ago that there had been...
As I headed for the buildings, I realized I was nearly jogging. Slowing my pace, if anything to make sure no one found odd... just in case soone was watching, or if a human appeared sowhere along the road.
"Careful Renn," I warned myself.
Walking carefully, I tried to sll and listen for anything odd.
I couldn't sll anything strange. The wheat slled, of course, and it was the loudest thing here. There was a light wind that ca and went, causing the stalks to brush against each other and sway.
Off in the distance I could hear other sounds. A stream was nearby. Sothing akin to cows could be heard in the distance too... and...
A creature darted out from the wheat to my right, and I watched as a small cat ran across the path and into the other field.
"Cats," I said, recognizing the sound of wing and owing. And by the sounds of it, there were many.
As I walked, more and more cats appeared. So were just running across the path, others were owing loudly from within the wheat sowhere. The owing was increasingly becoming noisy, and...
"They're upset," I said, realizing the distressed ows that started to beco the standard.
There was an obvious reason why, of course.
One of the cats erged from the wheat and hissed at as I walked past it.
Smiling at the upset creatures, I wondered why the only animal that ever really despised was the very one I was supposed to be.
Did others have the sa issue? Did owls hate Lilly and Windle? Did foxes hate Lomi?
Maybe that ant the best way to find out what Vim was... was to simply bring every animal in front of him and wait to see which one freaked out the most?
It was an interesting thought. Especially since I had learned from Lilly that no one knew what Vim was. It hadn't just been sothing Amber and the rest had said out of a lack of confidence in as a person. They had genuinely, and as far as Lilly was concerned, not known what Vim was. No one in the Society knew.
One of the cats ran across the path, and I realized most of the noises had died down. It seed most the cats had run away, no longer hissing at or voicing their complaints.
Maybe I stunk to them or sothing...
Looking down the road, I realized I was close. I could see the buildings nearby. There was smoke coming from one of the chimneys; it was thick enough to not be dispersed by the light wind.
I felt a growing anxiousness bubble within . This was it. Within monts I'd be standing before Vim... or at least, other mbers of the Society.
I'd been chasing after him for almost a week now, and...
And I wasn't ready. I still hadn't really figured out what I was going to say, let alone what to say first.
My tail shifted beneath my pants, and I felt a twinge of pain as so of the hairs on my tail got tugged and snagged. The feeling made want to pull my pants down and let my tail free, but I knew better than to do that. Especially since Lilly had told that humans fard this wheat, not our own kind.
While walking, I did my best to not get too bothered by my anxious tail as it twitched and trembled. My ears were likewise being active, but the hat had more than enough room to not feel as discomforting.
Wiggling my tail to a better spot, to wrap around my thigh, I breathed a small sigh of relief as no more hairs got tugged and pulled.
Yet still I couldn't help but feel unsettled.
A cat owed behind , and at first I was going to ignore it... but the ow was...
Glancing behind , my heart thumped at the sudden appearance of a person. Standing right behind , they were almost close enough to reach out and touch.
Stepping a few steps away, I quickly cald down after I realized who it were.
Vim.
Going still, I gulped.
I definitely wasn't calm anymore.
He was carrying a little white cat with black spots, which laid on his hand and forearm and looked relaxed as can be. Its legs were dangling, and it was staring at with a calm set of eyes. It was also purring.
"Vim," I said his na, and realized he wasn't happy to see .
Vim said nothing, and I watched as he gently stroked the cat's neck with his thumb.
Opening my mouth to say sothing, I hesitated.
Don't hesitate! Don't hide it! Lay it all out, Renn!
"The only reason I haven't killed you yet is because I sll Lilly upon you. So you better say the right things, and you better say them quickly."
A cold sweat erupted all over my body, and I gulped a severely dry mouth.
Vim's voice had been firm, yet not cold. He hadn't sounded angry... and he wasn't snarling or glaring at ... but there was no mistaking that look in his eyes.
I had never seen such a look on his face, but it was clear what it ant.
He now saw as a threat. Not just to him, but to the Society.
"I... I have letters for you," I said, and hated how desperate my voice sounded.
"Written in blood are they?" he asked.
Blood.
He slled blood on .
The reality of how desperate this mont was ca falling upon as I realized what had happened. He had slled blood... and ca to find it was , a woman who should right now be several leagues away living with his friends.
Maybe that was why the cats were acting as they did. That was why Windle had been so scared of .
I still slled of blood and death, because of my carrying of Amber.
"Amber died," I said.
Vim's eyes narrowed, and the man's thumb went still. The cat's ear twitched, as if in complaint.
"She... she was..." I took a deep breath, and found myself light-headed. As if I hadn't breathed for a long ti. I took a few monts to calm my ever stronger heartbeat, and nodded at him. "She was killed by a human noble."
"And?" A single solid word was spoken and it made shiver.
"No one else... Lughes, Crane and Shelldon are fine. I... I was told to leave, because I had grown angry. Angry at them. The humans..." I felt tears well up and blinked away so of the liquid.
Vim's eyes, which were hard... seed to soften a little as he finally looked away from . He looked down, at the ground.
Although hard, I craned my neck to see what he was looking at. I was surprised to find that he was staring at my feet. Or rather my legs.
They were trembling.
For a few monts I silently allowed my tears to fall. I didn't even try to stop my knees from trembling; I knew there was no point.
Vim's thumb returned to petting the cat, and then he sighed. "What did you do?" he then asked.
"I... I ca here looking for you. I was told to leave by Crane, and I t Lilly and," I stamred a little, but he shook his head to stop .
"What did you do to be told to leave?" he specified.
"Lughes and Crane... they didn't want to help Amber. Wouldn't let take her to a doctor. I did it anyway," I said.
My stomach tightened into knots as Vim's eyes narrowed a little. I couldn't see much anger in his expression, but I knew better than to think there was none in it.
"So you took her to a human doctor. And she died anyway?" he asked.
"Yes."
"So you risked our own kind for no reason then," he stated.
Opening my mouth to protest... I knew better than to argue. "Yes."
Waiting for the protector of the Society to... protect the Society, from ... I felt my eyes go blurrier with every passing second.
Then a minute passed.
Then the cat owed.
Then Vim nodded. "Okay," he said.
Taking a deep breath, I blinked tears out as I watched him bend down to put the cat down. It hopped off his palm, and after a small stretch it bounded off into the nearby wheat field.
Once the cat was gone, Vim stepped towards .
My fists clenched, and I realized that he was going to kill .
My instinct told to run. To fight back.
Yet I wouldn't.
After all, what was the point? The Society was...
Closing my eyes, I listened intently to Vim's approach. His footsteps were solid, but not heavy. I heard the rocks and dirt crunch under his feet, but also could tell he was walking calmly. Naturally. Without effort.
Would it be quick?
Then I heard his footstep near ...
Then I heard another next to .
Then I felt him pass by.
Opening my eyes, I shivered at the lack of Vim in front of .
Turning, I found him stepping away. Towards the buildings.
"W...wait!" I felt ridiculous as I shouted at him.
He glanced back at , and looked a little annoyed as he did. As if he was suddenly in a hurry to go do sothing else.
"Wait..." I whispered, and wasn't sure what to say. What to ask.
"You said you had letters for ? I'd rather read them while seated, if it's all the sa to you," he said.
I blinked, and although didn't find a blurry world... I did find myself wobbly. As if dizzy.
"I... You're not going to kill ?" I asked him. My voice cracked as I spoke.
Vim frowned and then shook his head. "Not right now."
"Am... Am I still able to be a part of the Society?" I asked.
"Did you want to leave it?" he asked back.
Releasing a sigh, it sounded more like a sob. I reached up to squeeze the tears out of my eyes. I found a far wetter face than I had expected. Wiping my face on my sleeve, I made sure to not accidentally knock off my hat.
"You better not be crying when we go inside. The snakes wake early, and it's too early for to deal with their nagging," he said.
I nodded, even if I wasn't entirely sure if I'd be able to accomplish it.
"Co on. You can tell more inside," he said.
"Mhm," I barely got my agreent out as I went to follow him.
I barely got my tears under control before we reached the house.
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