Cathy could not stop looking at the creature.
The clothing wearing squirrel walked next to Sam, bushy tail gently swaying back and forth as the two led the group through the woods. Sam had dismounted, leading her horse, as had Heather. This was not, so much, out of courtesy, but to rest the animals in case speed was needed. Cathy, naturally, stayed on Rhea.
A human sized, talking squirrel. It was out of a story book. One of those children's tales where creatures of the forest protect the lost princess and hide her from an invading king. That she was, in fact, a princess made it all the more weird. It wasn't like when they entered the Fairy forest. Everyone knew fairies were real. But, this... what next, talking monkeys?
Lil fluttered down on her shoulder.
"Keep alert, Cathy," she muttered, hand going to the girl's ear. "At the first sign of trouble, ride back this way as fast as you can."
"I can't exactly kick her into a gallop," she replied. Lil petted her ear.
"I know, but I don't think they're built for running so it's just a matter of you three getting out of the way so the four of us can fight our way out without having to worry about you."
Cathy turned, looking at the basket fastened behind her. Jay was asleep, well used to the sway and bounce of horses. Eyes lifting, she looked at Ben riding behind them. He looked... distracted. What could distract a blind person? She bit her lip.
"You OK, Ben?"
"Huh?" His white eyes swung to her. They still looked so weird to her. Not giant squirrel weird, but...
"Just don't fall asleep on us," Lil told him. Cathy turned her eyes back to the creature leading them on. She frowned.
"Keep an eye on him, Lil..."
****
The mysterious feelings in Ben's head were growing.
It was better than pain, or music. Not better than nothing, though. Yes, it felt... good, but it was a strange good. As if... his body was not ready for it, could not process it. He tightened his grip on the reins. He had to stay focused. Something was trying to distract him...
****
Sam walked out of the forest, and into another world.
A beaten, but somewhat new, dirt path ran through the spring grass towards a collection of buildings. Lining it, for over a hundred feet, were two rows of the squirrel women. They stood tall, proud, all dressed in the same simple garment, just a sheet, front and back, tied at the shoulders and waist. Some were died brown and green, but most were pure white. All were within a few inches of four feet tall, colors ranging from light brown to black, with some blues and reds thrown in. Most seemed to have chest and tail of a different shade.
Sam paused, taking in the scene. Heather, next to her, just shook her head.
"It can't be real."
"Does it matter?" Sam's eyes lifted. The town beyond was a hodgepodge affair. She could see that, even from here. Over a dozen buildings, built around a central circle with some sort of green table. It had the look of a mining town, or a trading post which has grown beyond one building but has yet to build structures intended to last more than the coming winter. She couldn't tell what they were built with, but much of it didn't seem to be wood or brick. Stepping a little closer to Heather, she ignored the look their guide Paza gave them and leaned her head in. "Don't relax."
The teen nodded.
"That will not be happening..."
****
A woman was waiting for them in the village center. She was old, that was obvious. Her fur was grey, the grey of age, seeming to hang on her bones as if muscles had faded to almost nothing. Her eyes, though, pupils of bright blue, showed a mind sharp, clear. Younger women stood on either side, just a step behind, attendants ready to help their leader, compensate for any failing. Sam just marveled. The relationship was so... human, one she had seen countless times. The three stood before the strange table. It was made of painted thin wooden planks, as were a pair of benches attached on each of the longer sides. Sam stopped, just outside a grassy circle that seemed to mark the center of the community. Handing her reins to Heather, she took a step forward onto the grass. She could feel every eye on her.
"Greetings," she said, bowing her head slightly. "I am Sam, Daughter of Gary, Wife of Jack."
The woman before her bowed low, both attendants moving to her side. She waved them back with irritation.
"Greetings, oh Holy One. I am she who is called She Who Saw." She held herself like that for a moment, then stood. Her eyes were bright with tears, body seeming to tremble. Sam noticed her gown, unlike that of the others, was not white, but seemingly an unending rainbow of thin threads running its length. One hand rose to wipe her eyes. "Forgive me, Lady. I... I never thought I'd see one of your kind again. It's almost too much."
Sam frowned.
"If you will forgive me, Ma'am, but... you are surrounded by humans, and quite frankly it doesn't seem like your encounters with them have gone well."
"Yes, those." She Who Saw waved her right hand dismissively. "They are not the right humans. Real humans. We know this. My daughters have tried to shelter me from this truth, but it is obvious. You, though... although female, I sense in you what I sensed so long ago. Come! Sit!" She motioned to the grass at Sam's feet. "All of you, sit! Ester, bring lights! And water! We will talk!"
Sam turned to Heather, who shrugged. She shrugged back, then returned her attention to the woman.
"Certainly. Give us a moment."
One of the squirrels appeared at her side. Her fur was brown, breasts a bit larger than Sam's own and apparently covered with white fur. Her hand, clawed, was open, and with a moment's hesitation Sam handed over the reins.
"Keep them here," she said, hoping it didn't come off as rude. "They'll need some water."
"Yes, Lady." The creature bowed, before signaling to someone else. The other squirrels were beginning to gather around the edge of the circle as Sam moved back past her mount to Cathy's. She patted her leg, nodding up at the girl, before reaching Ben. She touched his leg.
"Ben." He jumped a bit. "Sorry. Let me help you down, then I'll lead you to where we're going to sit." He nodded, seemingly a little hesitant. Well, he had to get bored up there, without even the scenery to look at. Her hands on his waist, he swung his right leg over next to his left, dropping to the ground easily. He was getting better.
"Can the Lady not walk?"
Sam turned to see a dozen of the creatures in a half circle around Heather as she assisted Cathy down and onto her back. She quickly stepped forward, bringing Ben with her as she kept ahold of his hand.
"No, she can't. Our companion's legs do not work. Also, our friend here is blind. Please, give them some room." The women nodded, backing up, eyes alight with concern and sympathy. Their gazes, especially, were on Ben. Sam thought she heard a few whispers of "male". Given she had yet to see any men among the group, or at least any that did not dress the same as the females, she filed this away in case it became an issue. Reaching up onto Cathy's horse, she pulled Jay out of his travel basket, holding him with one arm as her hand returned to Ben's. One of the squirrels pointed, eyes wide.
"A baby! A human baby!"
"QUIET!"
She Who Saw's voice rang out from the village center. Every creature dropped to one knee, head bowed. The humans swung their gaze around, unsure.
"You will all," She Who Saw went on, voice firm, "treat our guests with respect. They have traveled far, I think, and the day draws to a close. We will talk, eat, and talk some more. Your questions will be answered, maybe, later. For now, I will have silence unless I, or they, speak first."
Sam bowed her head in thanks.
"Thank you."
"No, thank you." The woman paused, then motioned to someone. "Bring a chair out for the girl. No reason for her to sit on the ground."
"No," Cathy said, shaking her head violently. "I'm not sick or anything. I sit on the ground all the time. If they're not in chairs, I'm not in chairs."
Sam laughed, adjusting her son in her arms.
"Do you have chairs for all of us?"
****
The chairs were metal.
Heather couldn't help but run her hands down one of the legs. Metal. Wasted on... chair legs. Not on weapons, or tools, or something important, but... chairs. The seats themselves were some sort of fabric, although nothing she could identify. It was smooth, seemingly without threads. The frame, though, was made of metal rods, attached with some sort of fastener that let the chair fold up flat. Amazing! Almost as amazing as the buildings around them. They, too, had metal. Large sheets, along with other materials she could only guess at. They had the look of structures made from the ruins of some fantastic building, existing pieces combined as best they could. Yet, this was not a village of poor serfs. There was skill at work here. Pride, as well, in a job well done, even as there seemed to be a humility as evident by their dress.
The humans each sat on one of the strange chairs, Jay even getting one of his own next to Sam. Blankets had been brought to form a bed for him, although he was now feeding. The lucky kid... Heather shook off that unfair pang of jealousy, eyes going to the crowd around them. It was a toss up as to which of them was drawing the most attention. The two fairies, perched on the heads of Sam and Heather's horses, were virtually ignored. Perhaps it was their size, or maybe they had met the flighty creatures before. Jay, though, excited them, drawing oohs and aahs from the women. So, to, did Ben. The only visible male, apart from Kik and Jay, even blind he seemed to cringe from the glare of the throng. His hangs were clutched between his legs, head down. Heather placed a hand on his knee, reassuring him.
About what, exactly, she wasn't sure.
She Who Saw sat down on her own chair before them. Drinks were brought, water, the humans taking the strange colored cups off a smooth colored tray. After they'd all had time to take a sip, the woman leaned forward, clawed hands clasped together.
"So... My Ladies, and Lords," she nodded to Ben and Jay, "what brings you to us?"
Sam leaned forward herself, Jay suckling away happily.
"We come on a quest, your Ladyship. I follow the trail of a Witch, who fled after... a mistake." She let out a sigh. "Partly my fault, I now admit. I scared her. However, her enchantment took with her my love, little Jay's father, and my sister. I search for them, not her."
The woman frowned.
"No humans have come through here."
"I am not surprised," Sam said, "although I would have liked it if they had. No, we follow a trail to them, not the trail they took. The Witch cast a spell, which took them... well, who knows where. In the year since they vanished, we have traveled far, across land and sea."
"A year ago?"
This was the second time that had drawn a reaction. Heather nodded.
"Yes, a bit over a year. Her sister was pregnant at the time, but surely has given birth by now, as Sam has."
"I was right!!!"
A brown furred squirrel leapt to her feet, a half dozen around her following suit. She clenched her fists in front of her.
"I was right! I did see them, Sisters! We did see them! And you all mocked us!"
"Judit! Sit back down!"
"WHAT DID YOU SEE?" Sam bolted to her feet, her cry drowning out She Who Saw's admonishment. She took two steps towards the furred girl, drink dropped onto the grass as her free hand went to her sword hilt. The standing squirrels flinched back.
"I... I..." Judit swallowed hard. "I saw... we saw," she waved her hand at the circle of companions, "three humans. A male, yellow hair, woman, red hair, and a dark haired woman large with child, blood flowing from her..."
****
Wendi missed clothing.
She missed many things. Good food, for one. Bread. Meat with gravy. Corn. She missed corn. But, clothing was one of those things that she had come, for a week or so, to link with freedom. To now be nude once again, as she had been as an apprentice to her Mistress...
She sighed, hands nimbly weaving the grass in her hand. She missed not working. That had been the entire point, to her, of studying to become a witch. Of magic itself. To get away from slaving away for her family. Now, that her training had started with her slaving away for the witch Quinnia had not been a good sign, but on her escape the future had looked bright. She had found a small group to take her in. Had found not one, but two sources of magic! Had found a man...
Her head bowed. Wendi missed Gary. Missed his smile. His touch. His laugh. She could have saved him. Could have! If only that idiot Sam hadn't spent the night with Jack! Hadn't drained him, drained the magic that could have saved the stupid girl's father! Goddess damn her!
A small insect landed on her arm. With a growl, she slapped it, squishing the red and yellow creature against her dark brown skin.
She missed clothing.
Oh, they still had their original outfits, stuffed in a woven leaf bag. They were in rough shape, having been abused horribly in the first month of their exile, so it had been decided to save them until they came near civilization. It was warm enough, where they were, that clothing wasn't really needed. Which was good, because Polly's attempt to cure furs had been a disaster, the results smelly and horrible. If winter ever came, who knows what they'd do. They could use leaves, yes, and had for hats, but those itched like hell, and never lasted. No, nudity was better.
Wendy looked down at the work in her hands. The bed mat was coming along well. That was good. They had slept on some piled leaves that night, with the bugs. Their last mats hadn't fared well in the last river crossing, and it had been decided a shelter on the bay coast was more important than a good sleep. Now that they were all set up, though, there was time for luxuries. At least, she thought so. She wasn't a hunter, or fisher. She wasn't even really a weaver, but she had learned it easily enough. She was a good student. If nothing else, she was that.
She caught movement down by the shore. Polly was rounding the large rock on the right edge of the beach, carrying netting that seemed full and bulky. Seafood for dinner again, then.
Yay.
It was better than starving again, true. She was not complaining, much. The walking and not eating had taken their toll on the heavy teen, and the larger meals were definitely an improvement. Now she at least had the luxury of bitching about the lack of variety. To herself, at least. One who does not hunt nor gather has little right to bitch about the food selection.
As Polly came closer, Wendy's eyes went to her full, hanging breasts. Maybe. someday, Polly could be convinced to share some milk with her. In a glass, naturally, or maybe make some cheese out of it. It seemed a shame to waste it all on the brat.
"Looks like a good haul," she yelled out, as Polly closed on the high tide line. Wendy took a quick glance over at the sleeping Tommy, making sure all was right there before mommy reached them. She was in no mood for yet another fight. The boy was sleeping comfortably, wrapped in Polly's old dress. A flimsy lean-to with a leaf roof, toy version of the larger one Jack had constructed up on the other side of the ridge out of the wind, protected him from the sun. Wendy adjusted her hat a bit, the sun having moved. Polly, her own hat on the verge of falling off with her hands too full to save it, came up next to the pair. With a sigh, she let her burden drop onto the grass, body gracefully sitting next to Wendy.
"This is a good spot to stop for a week or so," she said, body relaxing. "The easy pickings will last at least that long, and we can smoke enough to last us awhile when we move on." She turned her head to Wendy. "If we move on."
Wendy groaned, letting the mostly finished bed mat fall into her lap.
"We're not settling down. *I* am not settling down. There have to be people somewhere! And there are always settlements on the coast! If we keep going north, we're going to find them!"
"If we keep going north, eventually we'll hit winter. We must have been far enough south to have missed the last one, obviously, but..."
"Where the hell IS everyone?" Wendy stood, eyes scanning the horizon. "Where did we go? Where the hell did that spell take us?"
****
Jack sat on the thick branch, leaning back against the tree trunk as he ignored the deer-like animal drinking at the small stream.
It wasn't a deer. It had three eyes, for one, and one horn. Tasted like deer, not that he had been able to sample often. Hunting with spears, spears sharpened with rocks, or with rock tips, was damned hard. In the past year or so, however long it had been, he had learned to build snares, trapping the smaller animals, but to kill one of the deer-ish animals he had to have the luck to come upon when they were injured, before one of the sharp tooth creatures got to them. He had admitted such to the others, lest they come to expect such things.
Given how Polly had butchered the hides, maybe it was good he didn't bring many home.
Today, though, he wasn't hunting. He was tired. The shelter was done. Wood was gathered, so with luck they'd have a fire that night. Cooked seafood. If Polly had found something, but he suspected she had. Freed from the handicap of another creature inside her, she was nimble and had a quick eye. Neither of which described Wendy.
Jack closed his eyes. He didn't want to think about Wendy. Never wanted to think about Wendy. That her magic now seemed incredibly weak, and thus her hold on him likewise was weak, did not change his hatred of her. She didn't think. Didn't think of consequences. Didn't think about others. Didn't...
She wasn't Sam.
Jack tried to picture Sam. Picture her, not as he last saw her, sword in hand, screaming in anguish as she faded from view, but as she had lain with him. Her thin, strong body, so warm. Hands, tender, callused. Her skin, so soft under his fingers, trembling as he wordlessly spoke to her, told her secrets. He felt himself stir. Wendy could force him to hardness. Could force the essence from him that fueled her magic. Only Sam, though, could willfully draw pleasure from him. Only for Sam did he harden, with just her memory.
Her touch. Her kiss. She had kissed him, down there. Had taken him into her mouth. Bringing his hand up, Jack spit into it, before wrapping it back around his cock. It wasn't the same as a mouth, but now it was closer. He slowly pumped. Sam. She had given herself to him. He had found blood, her blood, on him when it was all over. He had been her first, as she had been his. His first, his only...
Jack opened his eyes, looking up through the branches. He could barely see the blue sky, the patches looking like large starts in a green night sky. Like the night sky when Sam and he...
Something large, slow, moved across the sky, blotting out the sun.
****
Wendy looked up, mind almost too overwhelmed to even consider thought.
It was large. Huge. And... not an animal. It couldn't be an animal. Even the largest dragon would not be that size! And it had not head, or wings, or... A shadow fell over them on the grass, her body becoming chilled. It was smooth. Looked smooth, although there were lines on it. The sound... was there a sound? Yes, but it was...
The shadow was gone. The thing was now well up the coast, to the north. There, it... stopped, it seemed, paused... and lowered.
Polly, baby in her arms, stood next to Wendy in shock.
"What the fuck is it?"
"I don't know…"