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More from Angel Phantom Furry Artist
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Tension builds. Yes, I've been wanting to write this chapter for a long time.
MINE.
~Angel~
<<< PREV | FIRST | NEXT >>>
______________________________________________________________________
Rayne smiled and waved at the entrance to Sagewynd from the road, familiar faces waving back but there was something else there. Even through smiles and greetings she saw fear in their eyes. Was it because she carried a bow and arrows with her? She shook it off as she entered the south district, going towards the butcher's stand in the market. The sun was bright and warm, baking her as she shielded her eyes and heard a hawk's calling. Get the leather first and ask for more food, then head towards her place to begin packing her things.
She smiled and nodded at several others on the way to the butcher's familiar stand, passing by the weaver's store before someone grasped her arm and pulled her inside. Rayne jerked a bit in surprise as the door was slammed behind her and locked by the shop's owner, an older white female ferret by the name of Joria. She always wore a worn apron and a plain grey dress, her little arms far stronger than how they appeared. Rayne knew her well, she was the one who taught Rayne how to bind her journals properly.
“Joria! What's going on? What're you doing?” Rayne asked in a little nervous laugh.
“Keep it down, ya fool,” Joria growled before pushing Rayne into the back of the shop. Her two daughters were working on two long looms, making rugs but Joria led Rayne into the darkest corner and kept her voice down. “What're you playin' at, girl?”
“I don't know—”
“Don't LIE ta me,” Joria whispered harshly to Rayne. “There's knights prancin' around here like they own the place, sayin' every manner of bad things about you and you'rn.”
“I don't know what you're talking abo—knights?” Rayne whispered back. “What do you mean knights?”
“Ever since you and your large new—friend,” Joria chose the word carefully, “And the fires in the forest, knights from our good Lord Bywren have been hangin' 'round like damn crows. They keep pecking for answers, seein' if you're around. Yesterday they put a bounty on your pretty lil' head.”
Joria emphasized that by flicking Rayne in the ear like a child, and Rayne cowered a bit like one with a flinch.
“So I say again—what're you playin' at, GIRL?”
“How many?” Rayne asked quietly, looking Joria dead in the face.
“Three, ridin' in. They came through once before but there were four'a them,” Joria grumbled a bit. “Went south, then came back not-a week ago, three of them. Then they started askin' all manner of questions about you and your—” she stopped a bit.
“Large friend, yes,” Rayne said in a quick snip of words. Honestly no one could keep their mouth shut in this town. “The knights, was there a boar with them?”
“Aye,” Joria stated. “He wasn't back this time round. There's a hawk checkin' out your place a few times'a day. And the canine and rabbit keep circling like damn snakes in a pit.”
“Rabbit?” Rayne questioned, focusing on Joria with a stern expression. “A jack rabbit?”
“Brown, weird long ears, skinny as a pole,” Joria answered and nodded. “Your large friend have some enemies there, girl?”
That wasn't possible, Ridder...Ridder drowned in the pond. Rayne watched him hit the water, and didn't see him surface. He HAD to be dead. Rayne breathed in slowly to calm herself, he may have escaped his watery grave somehow. Now she needed to focus on what the hell they were doing in Sagewynd.
“What did they ask for? Specifically, Joria,” Rayne's panic started to set in, her tone becoming more demanding.
“The bounty? Sightings of a grey tigress with silver hair,” Joria poked Rayne harshly in the collar bone, “And a white tiger with black hair. They give the coin if you tell them about you and where.”
“I don't...” Rayne frowned a bit, rubbing her temples with her fingers. Why would they be looking for Magnus? Because he was traveling with her? They wouldn't have seen him when they were coming to Sagewynd. They were waiting for them in Sagewynd, so how did they know Magnus would be with her?
Her head jerked up in realization. They knew, they had to know who he was, what he really was. That was the reason they were hanging around, they were going to kill him. Somehow... somehow they'd found out about him. An icy cold sweat ran from her forehead and down her spine, unable to stop her panic from pulsing through her like blood. “I have to go.”
Rayne made her way towards the front but Joria grasped her arm and pulled her firmly back in.
“Are you off your nut, girl? You go through the front they'll see you,” Joria growled before pulling out a key from her apron. “Go through the back, and get the hell out of here, you understand me?”
“Yes,” Rayne responded, but it was hollow as another shock of panic went through her system. Joria unlocked the back door behind the long looms, opening it for Rayne to go through. Rayne could hear her heart beat in her ears, feel it thump trying to get out of her chest as she bolted out the back door. The light was bright and burning in her eyes from being inside the building but she started running.
Until something grasped her around her waist and pulled her off her feet, clasping a paw over her mouth. Already on edge she slammed her elbow into her assailant and felt him groan but not release her, holding her viciously tight as she felt the sword hilt jam against her lower back.
“Calm yourself, miss,” the familiar voice said in her ear serenely. Ridder. “I'm not looking to harm you.”
Rayne growled before she bit the paw clasping around her mouth, hard enough to taste the blood in her mouth. She felt Ridder strain not to scream, taking his paw off her mouth but his hold on her waist stayed firm and painful on her ribs.
“MAGNUS!” she screamed, shrill and painful but Ridder spun her around and pushed her head down with his bleeding paw to keep her from screaming again. It did not work. “MAGNUS!”
She felt his paw slam into the back of her head, white shooting through her vision for a moment as she strained to stay standing. She blinked slowly as she saw Joria looking at her from the doorway, shaking her head barely at Rayne, telling her not to fight.
Ridder finally having control for a fleeting moment wrapped a pieces of fabric around her mouth, holding her voice quiet as he yanked her arms back painfully and tied them as well. He pulled her shoulder back to make her stand up, fabric tied tight around her mouth as it pulled at her lips painfully. Joria's paw waved a little against her side, pointing but Rayne didn't know at what.
“Have you finished being difficult?” Ridder demanded in an almost vindictive manner. Rayne stopped her struggling and closed her eyes to keep the pain in her head from growing worse. “Force me to get rough with you...I didn't want to.”
Rayne's eyes opened blearily as she watched the bag of coin fall to Joria's feet, looking at her unbelieving. Joria? Give her up?
“For your trouble,” Ridder stated. Joria's eyes narrowed at him like he were an insect, before she kicked the bag away from her and slammed the back door closed, the lock clicking inside. Rayne let out a heavy sigh of relief even as Ridder led her on, grabbing the bag off the ground. “Blinding loyalty, you do have a spell on everyone, don't you? Even your little dragon.”
Rayne began to struggle again as a jolt of fight pulsed back into her limbs, trying to yell again even with the gag over her mouth. Ridder's punch hit her in her kidney, no mercy any longer as she doubled over, eyes tearing.
“Abomination that you are,” Ridder growled, before pulling her back to stand. “I'll take care of you once I slit the throat of the dragon you've whored yourself out to.”
He pushed her towards the tavern, watchful eyes looking at her in the sun. She saw the fear again, now she knew it wasn't towards her. Ridder opened the tavern door and led Rayne passed fellows she'd know her whole life eating lunch and talking. Now it was silent, still, even the tavern owner didn't do anything as Ridder pushed her up the stairs.
She closed her eyes to keep from crying. She knew why no one helped her, but it didn't stop the sting of it, the sheer feeling of dread as she could do nothing.
Ridder unlocked one of the back rooms, pushing Rayne inside and pushing her face first onto the small bed. With brutal swiftness Ridder untied and pulled her bow, quiver and pack from her body, leading her to the only chair in the room for a desk in the corner. He tied her wrists behind her and her ankles to the legs of the chair, leaving the gag in even though it stained with his own blood. It didn't matter if she screamed though, it seemed no one had the guts to help her even if they wanted to.
Ridder took her things and set them in the corner near the door, far away from her reach even if she wasn't tied down. He wrapped his paw up carefully, never looking at her as he strapped extra knives to his belt, checking his blade, looking at the chain mail shift under his green tunic, strapping his shield to his back.
He finally looked at her, contempt and hatred in those large brown eyes.
“I'll be back for you,” he stated coldly, before turning away, key in hand and locking her in for good measure. Rayne's head fell forward as much as it could, before sobs started to choke through her. She tried to pull at her wrists, but her head still was aching terribly and her arms weren't strong enough against the fabric cutting off circulation to her paws. She had to keep fighting, she had to figure out how to get to Magnus.
***********************************************************************
Magnus kept his head low, his paws in the pockets of his leggings as he went into Sagewynd to try to be inconspicuous. What was odd was that there was no one around for him to be inconspicuous for. The few times he'd come through there were several bodies using the road but as he neared it the normal merchants and travelers had all but disappeared off the land. He knew he'd cleaned up enough after his mid-morning meal to know there was no blood on his face or paws, but he began to get the distinct feeling that had nothing to do with the bare Sagewynd streets ahead of him. He'd grab Rayne and fly out of here if he had to, this place was not safe.
He stopped just on the edge of the first street corner when a figure stepped out from behind a building, a coyote dressed in a knight's tunic, chain mail shirt and leggings and his paw on his sword.
“Good morrow, sir,” the coyote greeted.
Magnus' eyes narrowed, and another knight appeared from the street beside him. Similar garb and similar sword. Magnus' head moved slowly to look straight into the eyes of the hawk beside him, standing a few yards away from him and waiting.
“What brings you to Sagewynd this afternoon?” the coyote stated, still standing steady. Magnus' eyes focused on the coyote, head slightly dropping forward as a predator seeking out the threats around him.
“Something tells me,” Magnus stated in his mock-cheery tone, the threat coming through loud and clear to those mortal knights around him, “You already know that, Knight.”
“Of course we do,” a third voice stated from behind Magnus. He felt the familiar tone in that voice, although he believed the last time he head it was...when? Recently. It had to be recently. Magnus' head slowly turned around, his paws still in his pockets as his brow raised.
The jack rabbit. How had he gotten out of that pond? Clearly Magnus under-estimated the smaller knight. He pulled a paw from his pocket and pointed a mocking finger at the jack rabbit.
“Didn't I kill you already?”
A dark smile came on the rabbit's mouth, showing the large buck teeth as his whiskers twitched in annoyance or anticipation. Magnus heard the other two knights pull their swords from their scabbards but never left the eyes of the jack rabbit.
“I wouldn't do that if I were you,” Magnus growled in warning, turning slowly around to look at the coyote and letting the deep rooted predator shine through his eyes. “You could get very hurt, very soon.”
“We'll take the chance, dragon,” the jack-rabbit stated, Magnus' head turning back round. “We have what's yours, somewhere in this little—but easily burnable town. You change now, you could crush her easily.”
Magnus' eyes grew tend fold as the territorial instinct took over, his pupils shrinking with the threat of Rayne's life surging through his veins. If the jack-rabbit was lying, he would die, if the jack-rabbit was telling the truth, he would die.
“Where is she?” Magnus demanded in a far louder voice than his mortal body should allow. When the jack-rabbit only smiled again, he roared it. “WHERE IS SHE?!”
***********************************************************************
Rayne's head jerked up when she heard the lock of the inn room door slowly turn, he couldn't have—not so fast—no...NO!
But a young rat appeared with a brown face. The Inn keeper's daughter. Rayne stared as the young teenager made her way quietly in with her finger over her nose and mouth. Rayne nodded a bit as the girl shut the door behind her and tucked the master key into her small working dress. She took light steps over to Rayne and began to untie her ankles. She untied Rayne's mouth next, before whispering,
“Dah says to climb out the window, Miss Rayne.”
Rayne only nodded slowly as the young rat untied her aching wrists, setting Rayne free from the chair and standing in front of her. Rayne rubbed her paws and wrists to get the feeling back into them, before bowing her head slightly to the daughter and going to get her bow and quiver. The young rat was turning to leave when Rayne caught her arm and pulled her in close.
“Evacuate everyone,” Rayne whispered quietly, “Tell your father to get everyone to the north roadway.”
The rat nodded her brown head quickly, grasping hold of Rayne's paw once before disappearing behind the door and re-locking it. Rayne let her rage coat her like air, going to the window and opening it to climb down the second story roof and shoot that bastard Ridder.
MINE.
~Angel~
<<< PREV | FIRST | NEXT >>>
______________________________________________________________________
Rayne smiled and waved at the entrance to Sagewynd from the road, familiar faces waving back but there was something else there. Even through smiles and greetings she saw fear in their eyes. Was it because she carried a bow and arrows with her? She shook it off as she entered the south district, going towards the butcher's stand in the market. The sun was bright and warm, baking her as she shielded her eyes and heard a hawk's calling. Get the leather first and ask for more food, then head towards her place to begin packing her things.
She smiled and nodded at several others on the way to the butcher's familiar stand, passing by the weaver's store before someone grasped her arm and pulled her inside. Rayne jerked a bit in surprise as the door was slammed behind her and locked by the shop's owner, an older white female ferret by the name of Joria. She always wore a worn apron and a plain grey dress, her little arms far stronger than how they appeared. Rayne knew her well, she was the one who taught Rayne how to bind her journals properly.
“Joria! What's going on? What're you doing?” Rayne asked in a little nervous laugh.
“Keep it down, ya fool,” Joria growled before pushing Rayne into the back of the shop. Her two daughters were working on two long looms, making rugs but Joria led Rayne into the darkest corner and kept her voice down. “What're you playin' at, girl?”
“I don't know—”
“Don't LIE ta me,” Joria whispered harshly to Rayne. “There's knights prancin' around here like they own the place, sayin' every manner of bad things about you and you'rn.”
“I don't know what you're talking abo—knights?” Rayne whispered back. “What do you mean knights?”
“Ever since you and your large new—friend,” Joria chose the word carefully, “And the fires in the forest, knights from our good Lord Bywren have been hangin' 'round like damn crows. They keep pecking for answers, seein' if you're around. Yesterday they put a bounty on your pretty lil' head.”
Joria emphasized that by flicking Rayne in the ear like a child, and Rayne cowered a bit like one with a flinch.
“So I say again—what're you playin' at, GIRL?”
“How many?” Rayne asked quietly, looking Joria dead in the face.
“Three, ridin' in. They came through once before but there were four'a them,” Joria grumbled a bit. “Went south, then came back not-a week ago, three of them. Then they started askin' all manner of questions about you and your—” she stopped a bit.
“Large friend, yes,” Rayne said in a quick snip of words. Honestly no one could keep their mouth shut in this town. “The knights, was there a boar with them?”
“Aye,” Joria stated. “He wasn't back this time round. There's a hawk checkin' out your place a few times'a day. And the canine and rabbit keep circling like damn snakes in a pit.”
“Rabbit?” Rayne questioned, focusing on Joria with a stern expression. “A jack rabbit?”
“Brown, weird long ears, skinny as a pole,” Joria answered and nodded. “Your large friend have some enemies there, girl?”
That wasn't possible, Ridder...Ridder drowned in the pond. Rayne watched him hit the water, and didn't see him surface. He HAD to be dead. Rayne breathed in slowly to calm herself, he may have escaped his watery grave somehow. Now she needed to focus on what the hell they were doing in Sagewynd.
“What did they ask for? Specifically, Joria,” Rayne's panic started to set in, her tone becoming more demanding.
“The bounty? Sightings of a grey tigress with silver hair,” Joria poked Rayne harshly in the collar bone, “And a white tiger with black hair. They give the coin if you tell them about you and where.”
“I don't...” Rayne frowned a bit, rubbing her temples with her fingers. Why would they be looking for Magnus? Because he was traveling with her? They wouldn't have seen him when they were coming to Sagewynd. They were waiting for them in Sagewynd, so how did they know Magnus would be with her?
Her head jerked up in realization. They knew, they had to know who he was, what he really was. That was the reason they were hanging around, they were going to kill him. Somehow... somehow they'd found out about him. An icy cold sweat ran from her forehead and down her spine, unable to stop her panic from pulsing through her like blood. “I have to go.”
Rayne made her way towards the front but Joria grasped her arm and pulled her firmly back in.
“Are you off your nut, girl? You go through the front they'll see you,” Joria growled before pulling out a key from her apron. “Go through the back, and get the hell out of here, you understand me?”
“Yes,” Rayne responded, but it was hollow as another shock of panic went through her system. Joria unlocked the back door behind the long looms, opening it for Rayne to go through. Rayne could hear her heart beat in her ears, feel it thump trying to get out of her chest as she bolted out the back door. The light was bright and burning in her eyes from being inside the building but she started running.
Until something grasped her around her waist and pulled her off her feet, clasping a paw over her mouth. Already on edge she slammed her elbow into her assailant and felt him groan but not release her, holding her viciously tight as she felt the sword hilt jam against her lower back.
“Calm yourself, miss,” the familiar voice said in her ear serenely. Ridder. “I'm not looking to harm you.”
Rayne growled before she bit the paw clasping around her mouth, hard enough to taste the blood in her mouth. She felt Ridder strain not to scream, taking his paw off her mouth but his hold on her waist stayed firm and painful on her ribs.
“MAGNUS!” she screamed, shrill and painful but Ridder spun her around and pushed her head down with his bleeding paw to keep her from screaming again. It did not work. “MAGNUS!”
She felt his paw slam into the back of her head, white shooting through her vision for a moment as she strained to stay standing. She blinked slowly as she saw Joria looking at her from the doorway, shaking her head barely at Rayne, telling her not to fight.
Ridder finally having control for a fleeting moment wrapped a pieces of fabric around her mouth, holding her voice quiet as he yanked her arms back painfully and tied them as well. He pulled her shoulder back to make her stand up, fabric tied tight around her mouth as it pulled at her lips painfully. Joria's paw waved a little against her side, pointing but Rayne didn't know at what.
“Have you finished being difficult?” Ridder demanded in an almost vindictive manner. Rayne stopped her struggling and closed her eyes to keep the pain in her head from growing worse. “Force me to get rough with you...I didn't want to.”
Rayne's eyes opened blearily as she watched the bag of coin fall to Joria's feet, looking at her unbelieving. Joria? Give her up?
“For your trouble,” Ridder stated. Joria's eyes narrowed at him like he were an insect, before she kicked the bag away from her and slammed the back door closed, the lock clicking inside. Rayne let out a heavy sigh of relief even as Ridder led her on, grabbing the bag off the ground. “Blinding loyalty, you do have a spell on everyone, don't you? Even your little dragon.”
Rayne began to struggle again as a jolt of fight pulsed back into her limbs, trying to yell again even with the gag over her mouth. Ridder's punch hit her in her kidney, no mercy any longer as she doubled over, eyes tearing.
“Abomination that you are,” Ridder growled, before pulling her back to stand. “I'll take care of you once I slit the throat of the dragon you've whored yourself out to.”
He pushed her towards the tavern, watchful eyes looking at her in the sun. She saw the fear again, now she knew it wasn't towards her. Ridder opened the tavern door and led Rayne passed fellows she'd know her whole life eating lunch and talking. Now it was silent, still, even the tavern owner didn't do anything as Ridder pushed her up the stairs.
She closed her eyes to keep from crying. She knew why no one helped her, but it didn't stop the sting of it, the sheer feeling of dread as she could do nothing.
Ridder unlocked one of the back rooms, pushing Rayne inside and pushing her face first onto the small bed. With brutal swiftness Ridder untied and pulled her bow, quiver and pack from her body, leading her to the only chair in the room for a desk in the corner. He tied her wrists behind her and her ankles to the legs of the chair, leaving the gag in even though it stained with his own blood. It didn't matter if she screamed though, it seemed no one had the guts to help her even if they wanted to.
Ridder took her things and set them in the corner near the door, far away from her reach even if she wasn't tied down. He wrapped his paw up carefully, never looking at her as he strapped extra knives to his belt, checking his blade, looking at the chain mail shift under his green tunic, strapping his shield to his back.
He finally looked at her, contempt and hatred in those large brown eyes.
“I'll be back for you,” he stated coldly, before turning away, key in hand and locking her in for good measure. Rayne's head fell forward as much as it could, before sobs started to choke through her. She tried to pull at her wrists, but her head still was aching terribly and her arms weren't strong enough against the fabric cutting off circulation to her paws. She had to keep fighting, she had to figure out how to get to Magnus.
***********************************************************************
Magnus kept his head low, his paws in the pockets of his leggings as he went into Sagewynd to try to be inconspicuous. What was odd was that there was no one around for him to be inconspicuous for. The few times he'd come through there were several bodies using the road but as he neared it the normal merchants and travelers had all but disappeared off the land. He knew he'd cleaned up enough after his mid-morning meal to know there was no blood on his face or paws, but he began to get the distinct feeling that had nothing to do with the bare Sagewynd streets ahead of him. He'd grab Rayne and fly out of here if he had to, this place was not safe.
He stopped just on the edge of the first street corner when a figure stepped out from behind a building, a coyote dressed in a knight's tunic, chain mail shirt and leggings and his paw on his sword.
“Good morrow, sir,” the coyote greeted.
Magnus' eyes narrowed, and another knight appeared from the street beside him. Similar garb and similar sword. Magnus' head moved slowly to look straight into the eyes of the hawk beside him, standing a few yards away from him and waiting.
“What brings you to Sagewynd this afternoon?” the coyote stated, still standing steady. Magnus' eyes focused on the coyote, head slightly dropping forward as a predator seeking out the threats around him.
“Something tells me,” Magnus stated in his mock-cheery tone, the threat coming through loud and clear to those mortal knights around him, “You already know that, Knight.”
“Of course we do,” a third voice stated from behind Magnus. He felt the familiar tone in that voice, although he believed the last time he head it was...when? Recently. It had to be recently. Magnus' head slowly turned around, his paws still in his pockets as his brow raised.
The jack rabbit. How had he gotten out of that pond? Clearly Magnus under-estimated the smaller knight. He pulled a paw from his pocket and pointed a mocking finger at the jack rabbit.
“Didn't I kill you already?”
A dark smile came on the rabbit's mouth, showing the large buck teeth as his whiskers twitched in annoyance or anticipation. Magnus heard the other two knights pull their swords from their scabbards but never left the eyes of the jack rabbit.
“I wouldn't do that if I were you,” Magnus growled in warning, turning slowly around to look at the coyote and letting the deep rooted predator shine through his eyes. “You could get very hurt, very soon.”
“We'll take the chance, dragon,” the jack-rabbit stated, Magnus' head turning back round. “We have what's yours, somewhere in this little—but easily burnable town. You change now, you could crush her easily.”
Magnus' eyes grew tend fold as the territorial instinct took over, his pupils shrinking with the threat of Rayne's life surging through his veins. If the jack-rabbit was lying, he would die, if the jack-rabbit was telling the truth, he would die.
“Where is she?” Magnus demanded in a far louder voice than his mortal body should allow. When the jack-rabbit only smiled again, he roared it. “WHERE IS SHE?!”
***********************************************************************
Rayne's head jerked up when she heard the lock of the inn room door slowly turn, he couldn't have—not so fast—no...NO!
But a young rat appeared with a brown face. The Inn keeper's daughter. Rayne stared as the young teenager made her way quietly in with her finger over her nose and mouth. Rayne nodded a bit as the girl shut the door behind her and tucked the master key into her small working dress. She took light steps over to Rayne and began to untie her ankles. She untied Rayne's mouth next, before whispering,
“Dah says to climb out the window, Miss Rayne.”
Rayne only nodded slowly as the young rat untied her aching wrists, setting Rayne free from the chair and standing in front of her. Rayne rubbed her paws and wrists to get the feeling back into them, before bowing her head slightly to the daughter and going to get her bow and quiver. The young rat was turning to leave when Rayne caught her arm and pulled her in close.
“Evacuate everyone,” Rayne whispered quietly, “Tell your father to get everyone to the north roadway.”
The rat nodded her brown head quickly, grasping hold of Rayne's paw once before disappearing behind the door and re-locking it. Rayne let her rage coat her like air, going to the window and opening it to climb down the second story roof and shoot that bastard Ridder.
Category Story / Fantasy
Species Tiger
Size 120 x 120px
File Size 40 kB
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