Ander - Part 4: Subchapter 27
27
"Dad?" Luke said, not quite sure what he intended to say, but feeling like he might not get another chance for a very long time.
"Hmm?" Dad looked back, his hand resting on the doorknob.
There was so much Luke wanted to say to him, but he was never very good with words unless it was for something stupid, like the time he managed to convince Vee that eating enough salt would make her fur go white, just like her friend Adria's, or when he told Tim that sunflowers didn't really follow the sun, it was the sun that followed the sunflowers, and that if anything ever happened to them then the sun would disappear forever.
He had done something much worse than telling tall tales to his impressionable little siblings. He had tried to kill someone. Luke still believed that there was something wrong with that Wolf, but Dad did not. To him, it was the same thing as trying to kill a fellow Fox. But even so, instead of punishing him for a crime that would have resulted in gaol time in Grovenglen, he was giving his son an opportunity to lay his fears to rest.
Or to confirm them.
Truth be told, Luke would gladly welcome any outcome, because at least then he'll know. There'd be no more second-guessing himself, no more worries of morality. He'd no longer feel the shackles of responsibility tying him down, a burden that should belong to parents and parents alone, not their carefree children. Dad understood all of this, and for that he was grateful. His understanding, his unwavering hard work, even the kindness that had gotten them into this mess, he was grateful for all of it. He wanted to tell him all of these thoughts and more, but unless it was for something stupid, he was never very good with words. In the end, all he could think of to say was, "Thank you, Dad."
Dad smiled, perhaps knowing he meant more with those three words. "You're very welcome, Luke." He twisted the knob and the latch left its little nitch in the doorframe with a soft click.
"Oh, and Dad?" Luke said, a thought popping into his head.
"Yeah?"
"Don't tell Banno I'm going away. Don't even mention me unless he asks, and if he does, just tell him I'm sick. Or that you took me outside and gave me such a beating behind the shed I'll be laid up in bed for a few days. And don't let Tim and Vee blabber anything to him, either. No matter what, he can't find out _anything_until I'm back."
Dad sighed, but nodded his head. "I don't know where you get all this paranoia from, boy, but all right. I won't breathe a word to him."
"Thanks."
"You'll be a lot happier if you stopped worrying about every teensy little thing, you know."
"I know. I promise, after this is all over I'll never worry about anything ever again."
"Okay, you do that," Dad said with a chuckle. "'Don't tell Banno'... Honestly, how on earth do you expect him to find out anything stuck in that bed like he is?" he rolled his eyes, chuckled some more, and pushed the door open.
"Thanks again, Dad."
"No problem. Just try not to make any more attempts on Banno's life for a while, okay?"
Luke forced out a laugh. "Okay."
He stepped out onto the landing and shut the door. Only then did Luke allow himself to sigh in relief. He plopped down onto his bed, his knees shaking with the delayed reaction of it all, unable to believe he wasn't going to be punished, that he was going to Grovenglen, and that he would finally be getting some answers. It made him feel kinda giddy, but also a bit sick in the stomach, like someone who had escaped death by scant inches.
This isn't over yet, he reminded himself. Not until you find out Banno really is as harmless as Dad thinks he is, or you get back here with a hundred armed Foxes in tow.
The image of him leading a cavalry charge was a bit farfetched, but it helped to ease his nerves considerably.
Except...
Luke got up and started to pace his room again, moving in small circles, looking down at his feet. Dad thought he was just being paranoid when he asked that Banno be kept in the dark about his little trip, and who knows? Maybe he really was just being paranoid. But there was another reason to keep it a secret, a reason that wouldn't even occur to Dad in all his carefree rose-tinted naivety.
If Banno really did mean them harm, what would he do if he found out his cover might get blown tomorrow? How would he react? What would he do next time Dad came in to change his bandages? Or if Vee came in with a plate of food? What if he grabbed her like he did yesterday, except this time he did not let go? What if he -
No. Luke stopped his pacing and gave his head a brief shake. Banno was stuck in bed with a chopped off foot. He's weak and spends half his days sleeping. Even if he could get out of bed (bloody unlikely) he'd have to hop around like a kid playing squares, which is both slow and loud. Either that or walk around on his stump, he supposed, but that was something Luke couldn't imagine even in his most paranoid fantasies, not if the brute had any sense of pain.
Luke sighed and rubbed his face. It was hard, constantly trying to anticipate how anything and everything could go wrong, and it wasn't even him! He was never like this before that big black monstrosity came along! He used to get up every morning, do his chores right and early to get them out of the way, then spend the rest of the day goofing off with Tim, lazing around in the sunshine, maybe doing some fishing. Fun stuff. Easy stuff. Carefree stuff.
"Things can go back to the way they were," he whispered to himself. "Tomorrow night. The morning after that at the latest. I'll know the truth. Or at least find out enough to piece together the truth for myself. Then Banno really will be just an unfortunate houseguest, or... we'll be rid of him. Yeah. Things will go back to being fun and easy."
He took a long, deep breath and blew it out through puckered lips like he was stoking a fire. Slowly but surely he started to feel better. Maybe he'd take a few coins along and buy Vee a present at the market. Maybe a jar of honey, or a new sewing kit. She'd like that.
But that would come after. Right now he still had to get through today without getting into any more trouble. Maybe he'd find Tim and tell him about the lucky break they had caught, and warn him not to talk about it anywhere within earshot of the Wolf's Den. And then after that's dealt with, maybe he'd go down to the barn and give Jitters an apple or two, get her ready for the long, hard trip tomorrow. Dad was right when he said she was getting old, but he knew she could handle it. She's a tough old mare.
Feeling a true sense of relief for the first time since they found that half-dead Wolf by the river, Luke opened the door and -
*
Banno heard the little bastard first open the door with that characteristic thuckedy-clack sound, and then him running down the steps, making much more noise than his father did.
He pressed his ear against the door hole, listening for all he was worth. He had slipped inside the adjacent room at the last second, refusing to let it all end so abruptly. There was still so much fun to be had, and by the Cora, he would not let it be denied by a pair of over-eager Foxes. He knew his chances were slim, that if James or anyone else decided to check his room he'd be found out immediately, but a slim chance was still better than no chance at all. If he could sneak back to bed before anyone noticed he was gone, maybe he could still fix this somehow. Maybe he could convince James not to let his son go on such a dangerous errand, or - No, then he'd know he was eavesdropping. Maybe he could win the boy's trust? Or maybe he could... he could... could...
He sniffed the air, slow on the inhale and quick on the exhale so he could get back to the inhale again. He knew that scent, that delightful, playful scent...
He turned around and examined this room for the first time since he slipped inside. There was a table and chair facing a big window to catch all the sunlight, and some pictures on the wall, not quite as refined as the ones in the tunnel, but still pretty. There were also dried flowers hanging among them, pressed flat, their colours soft and their leaves slightly cracked. Nothing too spectacular, but in the other corner was a bed; a small, soft bed with yellow blankets, a bed heavy with her smell...
"Oah..." Banno moaned, pinching his nostrils shut. He did not have time for this. He seriously did not have time for this! He had to get back, before he was missed, he had to... had to...
Just one more sniff before he left. One more can't hurt. He was probably already caught anyway, so what was the harm?
He lowered his hand and breathed deeply of her innocent, pre-pubescent aroma. The whole room was caked with it: the walls, the floor, the chair, but especially...
He crossed the distance to her bed in two big steps, the shooting pains in his stump not even registering in his brain. She had sat here, and very recently. She probably sat here every day. This was where she slept at night. This was where she lay, and this was where she dreamed...
What did she dream about, he wondered? Banno put his hand down on her pillow, and he could almost feel her very presence throbbing against his palm, straining to be with him. It felt... magical.
She dreams about me...
This was not a fantasy or even a daydream. It was a fact. This was where Valery rested her head each night and this was where she dreamed of him, whispering his name into her pillow, maybe rubbing her thighs together as she did so...
He could smell everything that had seeped into this pillow over the years: her sweat, her tears, her spit...
Banno buried his face into the warm folds of her pillow, Valery's pillow, and he breathed deeply of her scent, ecstatic in the knowledge that he now occupied a space with his presence that had been specially reserved for hers. The only difference between them now was time. They were in the same space here, together. His head is now where her head was just a few hours ago. Ignore time, and they were inside each other.
Time... time... he was running out of time. But...
Banno lifted his head and looked down at the pillow he had mushed his face into. So much of Valery was inside of this... so many years' worth of her very being. He just wanted... a tiny... little... taste...
He stuck out his tongue and dragged it across the strange material. The texture was soft and yielding, warm like flesh, but mostly tasteless except for the hint of her sweat mingled with his own breath. He liked it, the way their tastes mingled so effortlessly, even when they were apart. It was just another sign of how strongly they were meant to become one, how she was made to be tasted, devoured, taken into himself.
He felt a tickle on his tongue, and after a few failed attempts, he pulled a long, golden strand of her hair from his mouth, beaded with his spittle. He looked at the way the sunlight shone through it, turning it into a glowing thread between his fingers, then slowly put it back on his tongue and closed his mouth.
"Hmmm..." He savoured the taste with his eyes closed, just for a second, then slowly started to come back to the waking world. This was a wonderful distraction, but a distraction nonetheless. He flipped the pillow over and smacked it a few times until it looked just as casually frumpled as it was before. It might have been a mistake, leaving his own scent plastered all over a spot she was bound to stuff her nose into, but the idiot and his brat never noticed a thing while he was spying on them, so it was safe to assume their sense of smell was nowhere near as powerful as his. And besides, maybe she'd like it. On some deep, buried level where her waking mind was not aware of what she was feeling, maybe she would inhale deeply of his gift, and they would grow closer. They would become... intimate. Now, to get back to -
His eye caught the window and he froze in place, still halfway bent over.
By the Cora, how could he have been so stupid!? This whole time he's been lamenting his situation because he had no idea what was going on in the world outside, and here was a golden opportunity for him to see something other than a big chunk of mountain and that stupid, useless birds' nest!
Keeping his head low, he snuck over to the window and carefully peeked outside. The first thing he noticed was a giant... red... something, dominating the landscape.
"What the...?" Banno frowned, and he stared, and he tilted his head. He tried everything in his power to try and make sense of what he was seeing, but nothing worked.
It appeared to be some kind of big, red, boxlike construction with a big gate in the front and two tiny windows near the top. The roof was slightly curved, like a tortoise's shell. What the hell was that thing? Was it another Fox home? Was that what this place looked like from the outside, too? Did James have neighbours this entire time, and he just never bothered to mention them?
As was instinct with him, Banno tried to sniff the unknown to get a clearer understanding of it, but this damn unmelting ice sheet thing was blocking the breeze!
"Urgh," Banno tapped it with his claw (tink!), and wondered for the first time what this clear substance was actually made of. Until now it was just part of the background. It didn't affect him in any way, so he didn't think on it. But now it was actively interfering with something he wanted to do, and that made it his enemy. Could he move it? Could he open it? Could he break it? He was wasting so much time!
In the end, he decided to leave it alone. If he changed something in such a way that he couldn't put it back exactly like it was, he would only be found out.
You're going to be found out if you don't get back in bed right now!
But Banno couldn't leave just yet. This game of blending in was so different from the one he played back home. Among the Wolves he could mostly be himself and still be admired for it. Here, however, he had to tone it down so far it was like pretending to be someone else entirely. This was a game of deception, and the core of it was information. The more information he had, the better he could play his role.
Ignoring the big red building for now, he scanned the surrounding area, his eye moving with the fine attention to detail he's developed over the years of picking out the weak and lame as his prey. It was mostly grass, with the odd patch of brown because of the cold weather. There were also huge blocks of tall plants that couldn't have grown naturally. They were far too neat and ordered for that, carefully arranged in rows upon rows, swaying in the breeze like ripples. Did the Foxes control where the plants would grow? Whatever for? Was it to feed the animals he could sometimes hear from his room? There was a great big giant forest to the - Banno checked the shadows - to the North, so why did they need to keep animals alive for long periods of time if they could just hunt their food like normal predators?
"Crazy Foxes..." Banno muttered, not for the first time, and probably not the last either. And speaking of the Foxes...
Banno ducked his head slightly lower and flattened his ears against his head. He had spotted brats number one and two in the house's shadow, flapping their jaws at each other, but this infernal piece of ice filling the window made it impossible for him to hear what they were saying. Well, no matter. He seriously doubted they were talking about anything important. What he really wanted to know was the whereabouts of their sister. If she wasn't in her room, and she wasn't with her brothers, then that must mean that, wherever she was, she was all alone. Poor thing. Poor, poor thing... constantly surrounded by these... plebians.
Oh, and here comes the biggest plebian of them all, James, holding a...
"Oh no, not again," Banno moaned to himself and ran a hand across his bandaged face, dismayed to see yet another contraption he had no understanding of whatsoever. It looked like a big stick, or maybe a staff, but not suitable for use as a club or a spear or a weapon of any kind. It had a handle at one end and a nub at the other, and -
Wait! If all three of them were down there, outside, then the house was empty!
Banno waited a second to see if James would stop to talk to his sons, but he simply waved a greeting and kept going, right for the house's shadow! Dammit, he was coming in!
Banno tore himself away from the window and the panoramic view of so many things unknown and lurched for the door, the pain in his stump suddenly back in all its annoyingly squelchy glory.
Wait... squelchy?
Banno steadied himself with the door's little metal handle and looked down at his bandages. They were still nice and white, but he could definitely feel a wetness in there, seeping into his fur to create a most uncomfortable layer underneath that kept shifting as he walked. It would only be a matter of time before all that blood started to seep through the bandages, and if that happened then all the stealth in the world wouldn't be able to hide the trail of blood he'd leave in his wake.
It's just one thing after another, isn't it? he thought, pushed the door open, and stepped back outside onto the little walkway thing that would lead him back to the steps.
The steps... why oh why did it have to be steps?
Banno now found himself in a predicament of mobility. He wanted to move fast and quiet, but he didn't want to put too much weight on his stump for fear of leaving a tell-tale trail of blood all over the house. This resulted in a lurching kind of hobble where he would take big strides, then quickly take the weight off his stump and lunge forward with his good leg again. If James wasn't right outside, he would have just thrown caution to the wind and hopped down the stairs like a one-legged rabbit!
"This is so ridiculous," Banno muttered to himself, unable to believe that he had been reduced to such demeaning behaviour. He grabbed hold of the railing and started hoisting himself down the steps three at a time, not letting his stump touch down at all; the wet, scratchy itch beneath the bandages driving him insane.
When he was halfway down, he heard a door open somewhere on the bottom level, and then the soft whisper of Fox feet on wood.
James was back inside.
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