Sages, Chapter 1: Nights of Peace, under the Future’s Stars
"Nights of Peace, under the Future's Stars"
POV Aiko
The air was warm and quiet, all except for the sounds of birds chirping atop the trees. In combination with the comfortable orange and yellow colors of the setting sun, it was the perfect night. In my hands, I carried a bundle of firewood. It was a bit heavy, but hey, I'm a strong (ish) guy, so I managed. Of course, just one bundle of wood wouldn't be enough to stock up our reserves for the rest of the week. Thankfully, several more bundles of wood were mysteriously floating through the air behind me, following me like hounds would follow their owners.
Thanks, magic. You're the best.
The dry, powdery dirt felt comfortable beneath my bare feet as I walked down the path through the forest of oak, my small village coming into my sight. I stopped and sighed as I took a moment to simply absorb everything around me. Nights as free and stressless as this one were rare, and it felt like the weight of the whole world, for that brief stroll through the woods, was lifted off of my shoulders.
Walking through the village, I saw several of my neighbors lighting the street lamps and grabbing their laundry, prepping for the night before them. Finally, I came to the small and cramped cottage that I currently was living in. I opened the door to sight of multiple familiar faces.
"Hey wolfy, finally back? We were getting worried; sun is almost set" said the small, chirpy red fox who stood in front of me as I stood in front of the open door. The fur of her muzzle was almost completely black, but the rest of her fur was stunningly scarlet in color.
"Oh hey, sorry. I got a ton of wood for the fire" I reported as I walked into the cramped, one room home. Fortunately, none of us were very big people, so the whole situation was at least tolerable for basic everyday life. Ruby closed the rickety old door behind me before she said, "Good. We're almost out." Verse and Shiro were huddled by the fire, keeping warm as they burned the rest the existing wood supply. I dropped the bundle I was carrying next to them, then stuffed the rest of my findings in the corner of the room by the fire, where we usually kept our wood. Taking a look to the other side of the small room, I saw that Maren was busy folding laundry and fitting it snugly into the organized compartments that she had made for us. Beside her, Medley was laying down; the lynx's head resting on a bunched up blanket, and his hands folded across his chest. He appeared to be very deep in thought, as per usual.
"Oh yay! More wood!" exclaimed Verse from his place by the fire as he turned around to face me. "Now we won't have to cuddle each other to death for warmth!"
"Aww, but that's fun!" said Shiro disappointedly as he grabbed a log of the new wood and threw it into the fire.
"No it's not" Medley stated coldly. His voice almost seemed to suck the happiness right out of the room.
"Ehh, I sure don't mind it" I said smiling. Medley simply glared at me from his position on the floor, then resumed his meditative state of inner peace.
"I don't think that Medley appreciates your efforts to be close to him" Maren said chuckling. I sighed and said, "A family that sleeps uncomfortably close to one another stays together, isn't that how the saying goes?"
Medley grunted. "That is definitely not how that saying goes, Aiko."
"Well, it is now!" I said cheerfully, provoking a smile out of my other housemates and even a small blush out of Ruby.
There was a moment of pleasant silence between us, before Maren spoke up and said, "Alright gang, I thinks it's best that we get ready for bed."
"Alrighty, I'm gonna go hit the bathroom quick" I said before stepping outside one last time to quick run into the woods. Although summers along the Southern Coast tended to be fairly warm, the temperatures still managed to get cold during the night. Standing outside wearing nothing but a light tank and shorts, I began to shiver. I also felt like putting more clothes on to help sooth the mosquito problem that suddenly came to mind, which was particularly unpleasant when my lower clothing articles lay unbuttoned down upon my ankles as I took care of my business. Let's skip the details and just say that things would be embarrassingly itchy for the next few days.
I climbed back into our home to find that everyone was settling down. The only source of light left was the crackling fire. Verse and Ruby appeared to be amidst a last minute quarrel over who had to make breakfast the following morning. I got settled in my improvised pile of ground-level blankets (or "bed" as some might call it), just in time to hear Medley's voice crock out "Please shut up and go to sleep, or I will come over there and slit both of your throats." The room immediately fell silent.
Nobody ever questioned Medley.
We layed there in silence for a few minutes, simply looking up at the stars above, which were strangely bright and visible through the thin, transparent ceiling of our hut. I began wondering whether anyone else was still awake, which was soon answered by voice of the dark grey figure to my right.
"I remember when I first met you guys" spoke the quiet and calming sound of Maren's voice. "It was a night just like this one. The stars were just as bright. I was lost in the forest; alone ever since I had lost track of Medley the previous day. That's when I saw your campfire. I saw the five of you guys all huddled around it; and believe it or not, it was Medley that later convinced me that we should stick with you guys" she said as she playfully nudged the figure next to her. A muffled "Shut up" was the response.
"From there, it just took a little more traveling and we found this place!" Shiro said, chiming into our nostalgic story time.
"We were just a little north of the highlands at that point. You guys only got dragged down here cause I was headed in this direction to find work."
"Yeah, and look how far your "work" has gotten us. We now have a really nice tarp" Ruby interjected.
"Hey, magic is some serious business! I'd like to see you try." I recoiled, then paused to think for a moment. "Say, why did you guys even follow me anyways?"
There was another moment of silence before Maren spoke once again. "Because we liked you, Aiko. You had all these great stories about growing up and all of your adventures. We were all lost and confused, and you gave us hope."
At that, my heart almost stopped from how loving and caring my rag-tag family was. I couldn't help but smile. "I love you guys" I told them. Next to me, I felt a small, reddish-brown fox cuddle up to me and nuzzle into my fur. By the looks of it, Shiro was already asleep. I pulled him closer to me, and with that, I closed my eyes and drifted off into sleep.
It was possibly the best day that I ever had. Looking back on it, that day was pivotal for the dark and hopeless times that laid ahead for me. The happy memories of what remained for me back at the village was what would eventually give me the strength to keep on fighting. So for my family, I will always be grateful.
The next morning, I awoke tired. Rubbing my eyes in my white-furred paws and forcing myself to pull the covers off of, I managed to get up and take a preview of what the day ahead would provide. I noticed that I had slept in quite well; the sun was shining bright in the sky, and I was the only person left in the house. I got up and quickly slipped on some warmer clothing before I stepped outside.
"Mornin'" the otter said to me before taking another bite of something that smelled very pleasant. He was sitting by our outside fire-pit, where he appeared to be cooking our breakfast.
"'Ey Verse. Where are the others?" I asked.
"They already ate. Shiro and Ruby are off in the woods; picking berries I think. Maren and Medley went into town."
"Ah, okay" I responded as I sat down on the other side of the fire. Verse handed me a stack of what appeared to be his take on pancakes. "Want some?"
"Sure" I said, taking it. I sat and ate for a few minutes until I finished wolfing down my meal (Haha, see what I did there? Laugh, Dammit. I'm funny). I heard some footsteps approaching, and looked in the direction of their sound just in time to see Shiro and Ruby get back.
"Look Aiko! We got berries!" Shiro shouted to me.
"Nice job, buddy!" I said, giving him his complimentary high-five of approval (or CHFA for short).
Our celebration, however, was short lived. My tall ears perked up at the sound of yet another set of footsteps, these ones belonging to Maren. She seemed to be in quite a hurry, and the troubled look on her face instantly caught me in a similar state of mind.
"What's wrong?" I questioned.
She stared at me, the trouble now being brought to me by a new messenger; her eyes.
"Aiko, there are Wrothian soldiers here. They're searching."
My heart sank at the words.
"Where's Medley?"
"He's still in town, shopping for some herbs I think. He'll be fine; it's you I'm worried about."
"I'll be fine" I said, trying to calm her down. "I just gotta stay out of sight."
"Okay, good idea. Everyone get inside" she ordered. Everyone immediately headed for our cabin with the exception of Verse, whose gluttony prevented him from leaving the remaining pancakes behind.
Once we were all inside, Maren gave us the 101 on what she had heard.
"Apparently, both Agu Morran and Wrothian forces have been converging at our borders and those of the adjacent kingdoms. Tensions have grown even higher between the northern alliance and us southern nations. And with all the recent incidents over by the Uthalian-Wrothian border-" She paused for a moment to think, then continued. "King Bauxtaurus has voiced his concerns in a recent public interview. We've already negotiated a treaty with Aey'Áris, and it's definitely possible that one with Uthalia is on the way. We could very likely be at war soon"
"I see" I said, my ears drooping at the thought of everything. Maren placed a paw on my shoulder.
"You're worried about your mother, aren't you?" the wolf asked me quietly.
I sighed in disappointment. "Yeah, of course I am...she lives right on the border, you know. Just a mile or so away from the Thitus river." I paused to swallow my growing emotions before I continued. "She'll be ok, as long as they don't figure out what she's been doing."
After a moment of silence, Verse said, "I'm sorry, Aiko. You have my hopes and prayers"
Just then, the door burst open, startling all of us. I was about to prepare my stunning spell, but thankfully it was just Medley.
"I don't think they're heading down this way" he stated, shuffling in and closing the door behind him. "Hell, I don't even think they know that anyone lives out here."
"Well, fortunate for us. I think that in that case, we can go back outside; provided you guys are careful" Maren decided. At that, everyone slowly started filing back outside to get some fresh air, leaving just Maren and I remaining.
"Aiko" she said, her concerned voice trailing off.
"It's okay, I know I shouldn't worry too much" I said. "She may not be my real mother, but I still care about her. She raised me into this world when I had no one else to even give a damn. But I guess that doesn't really compare to you guys never having parents in the first place..."
To my surprise, she pulled me into an embrace. I layed my head on her shoulder, as tears started to form by my eyes.
"It's okay Aiko. We understand. We care about you and we care about your mother too" she said as she grabbed my paw in hers and gripped it firmly. "I'm just really worried about you. If they find out what you are-"
"I know. They'll interrogate me and then kill me. I've seen it with my own eyes."
"...okay. Well, we don't know anything yet for sure. And given the circumstances, it's far more likely that they would start with a strike on Uthalia."
A moment of silence stood between us. She quietly said "I love you, brother" which was then proceeded by an hour long session of my emotions slowly sinking into her fur in the form of my wet tears.
The rest of the day was relatively uneventful. I went on a stroll in the forest with Ruby and Maren, and then later we all had some family bonding time with a good old game of "guess what the other person is trying to draw in the dirt with a stick".
We went to bed early that night. My god, I had no idea how much I was gonna need that sleep.
I woke up to the feeling of being violently shaken. Opening my eyes, all I saw was the darkness of the middle of the night.
"Aiko! Aiko, wake the hell up!" I heard. Looking up, I saw Maren's terror-filled face in front of mine. Behind her, Medley and Ruby were waking up, and Shiro began to stir. Verse was still deep in sleep, as usual.
"What the hell is it?" I asked harshly, worrying about what her answer would be.
"Aiko, I'm so sorry" she said as she paused, right before spilling the words that ignited the spark of pure fear and madness in my heart.
"They're invading. Their forces have already taken Aey'Áris by night. And I think we're going to war."