"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 home isn't…" I stopped talking, as I realized the look on her face.
"For the same 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 me, and then extended her hand. "It was a pleasure to meet you Renn. May we meet again someday," 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 meant it. Truly, truly meant 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 same. Perfect for her to traverse and head home, to her nest and husband, without needing to worry about running into any random humans.
"Thank you!" I said again, louder. She waved at me but didn't turn around.
"Really, thank you," I said once more, and wished I knew how to properly convey to someone how precious their efforts were to me.
She had not only guided me to the town, but had spent the last two days teaching me well of the Society… stuff that Lughes and Crane really had not been forthcoming about. Lilly had been not just open but wanted me to learn as much as I could.
Looking back before me, at the buildings where the Fox family and Snake family lived, I wondered if there was something deeper to Lilly's aversion of meeting them.
Maybe she had used the humans here as an excuse. She had not shown any avarice towards Vim, but that didn't mean 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 me to reach the path, and I was a little surprised to find how tall some of the wheat was. Most of the field was as tall as I was, and some 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 me odd… just in case someone was watching, or if a human appeared somewhere along the road.
"Careful Renn," I warned myself.
Walking carefully, I tried to smell and listen for anything odd.
I couldn't smell anything strange. The wheat smelled, of course, and it was the loudest thing here. There was a light wind that came 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. Something 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 mewing and meowing. And by the sounds of it, there were many.
As I walked, more and more cats appeared. Some were just running across the path, others were meowing loudly from within the wheat somewhere. The meowing was increasingly becoming noisy, and…
"They're upset," I said, realizing the distressed meows that started to become the standard.
There was an obvious reason why, of course.
One of the cats emerged from the wheat and hissed at me as I walked past it.
Smiling at the upset creatures, I wondered why the only animal that ever really despised me was the very one I was supposed to be.
Did others have the same issue? Did owls hate Lilly and Windle? Did foxes hate Lomi?
Maybe that meant 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 something Amber and the rest had said out of a lack of confidence in me 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 seemed most the cats had run away, no longer hissing at me or voicing their complaints.
Maybe I stunk to them or something…
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 me. This was it. Within moments I'd be standing before Vim… or at least, other members 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 some of the hairs on my tail got tugged and snagged. The feeling made me want to pull my pants down and let my tail free, but I knew better than to do that. Especially since Lilly had told me that humans farmed 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 meowed behind me, and at first I was going to ignore it… but the meow was…
Glancing behind me, my heart thumped at the sudden appearance of a person. Standing right behind me, they were almost close enough to reach out and touch.
Stepping a few steps away, I quickly calmed 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 me with a calm set of eyes. It was also purring.
"Vim," I said his name, and realized he wasn't happy to see me.
Vim said nothing, and I watched as he gently stroked the cat's neck with his thumb.
Opening my mouth to say something, 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 smell 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 me… 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 meant.
He now saw me 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 smelled blood on me.
The reality of how desperate this moment was came falling upon me as I realized what had happened. He had smelled blood… and came to find it was me, 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 me.
I still smelled 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 time. I took a few moments 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 me 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 some of the liquid.
Vim's eyes, which were hard… seemed to soften a little as he finally looked away from me. 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 moments 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 came here looking for you. I was told to leave by Crane, and I met Lilly and," I stammered a little, but he shook his head to stop me.
"What did you do to be told to leave?" he specified.
"Lughes and Crane… they didn't want to help Amber. Wouldn't let me 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 me… I felt my eyes go blurrier with every passing second.
Then a minute passed.
Then the cat meowed.
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 me.
My fists clenched, and I realized that he was going to kill me.
My instinct told me 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 me…
Then I heard another next to me.
Then I felt him pass me by.
Opening my eyes, I shivered at the lack of Vim in front of me.
Turning, I found him stepping away. Towards the buildings.
"W…wait!" I felt ridiculous as I shouted at him.
He glanced back at me, and looked a little annoyed as he did. As if he was suddenly in a hurry to go do something else.
"Wait…" I whispered, and wasn't sure what to say. What to ask.
"You said you had letters for me? I'd rather read them while seated, if it's all the same 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 me?" 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 me to deal with their nagging," he said.
I nodded, even if I wasn't entirely sure if I'd be able to accomplish it.
"Come on. You can tell me more inside," he said.
"Mhm," I barely got my agreement out as I went to follow him.
I barely got my tears under control before we reached the house.