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Twelve
Rager and Kyx stepped up security that same day. Both males now took shifts so that one of them was always out patrolling. Kyx often took the day shift while Rager protected the burrow, and then, upon Kyx’s return, Rager would leave and patrol all night. It didn’t take long for Arie to miss having all three males at her side. Warol was the only one who remained with her, and that was not entirely by his choice.
By the time they had spent almost a solid week in the burrow, Arie was more than ready for the male to be better so she could toss him outside. As the days passed Warol was getting more and more testy. Kyx had found signs of the huntsman three times in the last few days, but still far enough away that no one was terribly concerned—yet. All the same, Warol chafed at being stuck indoors. He wanted to patrol, and perhaps have a chance to get the jump on the huntsman before he found them. More than anything it was obvious that he hated his current state of weakness. Though he was spending more time on his feet, he was still too shaky for Arie’s comfort.
“I am tired of doing nothing,” Warol said again, for perhaps the tenth time that day. “I hate being confined inside like a newborn rog!”
Arie looked up at him and smiled in commiseration before going back to stitching together the bits of hide that Kyx had helped her cut and shape the day before. She understood his complaint. She was also getting tired of spending day and night in the den. She never thought she would be one to get cabin fever, but she itched to get outside. Although the males sometimes accompanied her on short strolls to get some fresh air, she’d been more or less confined inside since she told them about the huntsman.
Not that she didn’t have plenty to do. The weather would turn soon, bringing snow into the lower elevations. She knew that she would need warmer clothes if they were to continue traveling. So, she spent her free time working on sewing pelts together—without much luck. Arie cursed as she stabbed her finger again with one of the needles from her medical supplies. Ironically, it was the same needle she’d used to put stitches in Warol’s tough hide, so she had figured it would work for the pelts as well.
It wasn’t turning out well. It reminded her exactly why she had concluded in her youth that sewing wasn’t her friend. She wasn’t even a passable seamstress beyond suturing wounds, which had often made her mother laugh. Arie felt her lips twitch. Her mother never understood how her only child could stitch a wound without trouble but mangled a hem past repair. She would doubtlessly laugh if she saw her now sitting on the floor of a den trying to piece together some sort of cloak from the furs.
Lifting her work, Arie gave it a critical once-over. She didn’t know whether to laugh or sigh in defeat. It might not look pretty, but if it didn’t immediately fall apart, she’d consider it a win.
Rager opened one of his secondary eyes and looked at Warol with a huff. “If you hadn’t decided to disobey orders, maybe you wouldn’t be confined inside. You certainly are whining enough to mistake you for a rog,” he muttered.
The male in question immediately bristled. “If I had waited for you, who knows what those males would have done to Arie. The males were attempting to claim her. I made a decision to benefit our f—uh, our human,” he amended with a snap of his teeth.
Rager closed his eyes with a snort. “So instead of waiting until we could join you, you decided to act despite there being no immediate danger to Arie and nearly got yourself killed. Excellent. Well done.”
Warol growled but threw himself down next to her, clearly feeling sorry for himself. Arie set her sewing in her lap and smiled as she ran her fingers through the fur on his back, scratching vigorously right between the shoulder blades as she carefully worked her fingers around the edges of the sharp protective plating. She was startled by his deep groan and grinned. Was this a secret spot she’d discovered? With Warol being so cranky, if this was the best method for calming him and improving his overall mood then she was going to take it.
Chuckling, she continued to scratch along his plating, working her way down his back as he practically went limp where he was stretched across the floor. When she hit the base of his tail, however, he let out a loud moan that made Rager’s head snap up, his ears pricking toward them. Arie swallowed back a nervous laugh and eased back.
“Sorry,” she whispered.
He nuzzled her thigh and sighed deeply. “Don’t. It was good… very good.” He shifted slightly, accidentally giving her a brief glimpse of his extruded state that made her cheeks heat with her blush.
“Oh.” She’d clearly touched him some place erogenous. She’d better avoid that in the future to prevent mixed signals. She resumed scratching around his plating higher on his back. “But this is good?”
He made a sound of agreement, and she relaxed and settled into petting and scratching him as Warol leaned into her hand and rumbled contentedly. Rager peered at them for a long moment before biting off several gruff words in their language that she gathered wasn’t complimentary. They rarely spoke what they called Ragii around her out of respect for her, so she assumed they reverted to it when they wanted to spare her ears. Whatever it was, Warol took immediate insult as he volleyed a series of snarled words back at the male that had Rager jerking up into a seated position and glaring at his brother.
She wondered if they were about to come to blows when Kyx rushed in and collapsed beside her, his sides heaving.
“Report,” Rager snapped, obviously still in a snit from his exchange with Warol. He didn’t even glance at Kyx; his full attention was unwaveringly focused on the silver male stretched out beside her.
Kyx’s gaze darted between the males, and he grimaced. “The huntsman isn’t moving on, Rager. He seems to be tightly circling this area. I don’t think we can delay leaving any longer without risking exposure.”
The lead’s gaze finally shifted to the smaller red male, and he sighed. “We knew this day was coming. I didn’t think we could just wait him out. Huntsmen are too persistent. Well, at least Warol’s inattention to where he was stepping was of some use as the situation alerted us to the huntsman’s presence,” he said with a wolfish smile.
Warol snarled briefly but it faded into a resigned chuff of amusement. “Always a pleasure to assist.”
Kyx snickered at her other side and looked slyly over at him. “No, we all know the real reason for your sacrifice. Arie hasn’t ceased petting your fur since we recovered you. You went from hiding behind empty complaints to practically climbing into her lap every day.”
Rager’s deep laugh sent a spark along Arie’s nerves as he pushed up onto his feet. “Just as well. I don’t think I could stand being stuck here for one more day listening to Warol make up things to complain about to give himself an excuse to avoid Arie.” He peered down at his triad brother. “I hope you have recovered well enough to travel.”
“I will not only keep up but outpace you,” Warol replied.
Rager tipped his head in acknowledgement. “Very good. Then we will gather our supplies and leave at nightfall.”
“Nightfall… Isn’t that a dangerous time to travel through the woods?” Arie asked hesitantly as Warol stood and made his way across the den.
Rager nodded but offered her a small, comforting smile. “It is, but less so for us than him. We will be on the move, putting distance between us while the huntsman sleeps in his shelter. It is the best time for us to travel until we are out of this particular area and can make for our next den.”
“Wonderful,” she muttered, not at all enthused at the idea of running around after nightfall. Not only was it more difficult to see the carnivorous plants that plagued the forest, but it was also the optimal time for predators to hunt, including the sleep-bite insect. A horrible flying insect the length of her hand, it searched for warm-blooded mammals on which to feed. Unfortunately, its bite had the terrible side-effect of sending its victim into a toxic shock slumber that could last anywhere from two to five days. The good news was that, because of their size, a cautious individual on the watch for them could avoid being bitten.
The Ragoru had far better vision than humans. She would have to trust them to watch for all the dangers.
