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"I'll be damned, Warlord, look at this," another exclaimed.
Irritated at the interruption because he was about to dab at a particularly nasty cut, Brogan growled and turned.
"Go." I nudged him. "I'll be alright." But it felt good to have this strong man fuss over me.
Sensing he wasn't about to leave my side, I walked to where the man who had called Brogan stood. On the trampled ground lay the leftovers of a grover family.
"Oh." My heart went out to the adorable-looking animals. Grovers were all over Thyre. They were a medium breed of predator, mostly hunting birds and small mammals. They reminded me of pictures I had seen of foxes from Earth when Earth had still been filled with life.
Only, a grover's fur was a light blue color, like Brogan's eyes, with white patches over their chests, bellies, paws, and a line on the underside of their fluffy, black-tipped tails. Their oversized eyes were black with white sparkles that reminded me of stars. They were one of the cutest creatures Thyre had to offer.
That I now stared at a slaughtered family of a mother with her five cubs nearly broke my heart.
"Something must have spooked them from their den, and they fled right into a herd of marcors," Brogan observed.
"Talk about bad luck," the man who discovered them said, shaking his head.
"That explains why the marcors were so aggressive," Brogan said, lightly touching one of the young. "They're still warm."
Tears gathered in my eyes, but I was distracted by a small kitten-like cry from a nearby bush. I quickly walked toward it, but Brogan stilled me with a hand on my elbow. "Careful."
I shook him off and decisively moved some branches apart. There, curled up, lay another baby grover. Large black eyes stared at me, and I swear I saw tears for his family in them.
"Oh, baby," I cried out.
Brogan, who stayed by my side, raised his sword. "It's a shame."
"No!" I screamed, falling into his arms and stopping him from killing the cub. "No, please."
"Alahna, it's going to die all alone out here," Brogan said reasonably.
"Well, he's not going to stay alone out here," I declared, bending over and soothing the little baby. "You're not, little one."
I reached for it, but Brogan stopped me once again. "Alahna, they carry diseases."
"He's hurt," I objected, snatching the baby the size of a kitten from the ground.
Startled, it hissed at me, and I turned just in time to prevent Brogan from taking him from me.
"He's scared. Poor baby just had his entire family slaughtered."
"Alahna." Brogan shook his head. "You can't keep him."
"Brogan, please." I turned my head to look up at him but shielded the cub from his hands.
Wideeyeswellingupwith tears stared up at me, pleading. I shook my head. This cub had a one-in-a-million chance of survival, it was hurt. The most merciful thing to do for it would be to kill it, put it out of its misery, but I wasn't about to rip it from Alahna's hands, who had obviously taken a liking to the little creature.
They were adorable; I gave her that, but… they were also a nuisance. Farmers hated them because they came for their chickens, another animal species imported from the humans Thyres had taken to. Besides their delicious meat, they laid even more delicious eggs, and the roosters made effective alarm systems, warning of intruders as well as announcing the rising sun.
Grovers' main food source were birds, and the chickens that had multiplied by the millions on Thyre had fast become grovers' favorite food source. Because chickens were easy to catch, it made grovers the mortal enemies of farmers.
In return, grovers' fur was some of the softest and warmest and were highly sought-after by the noble kallinies in our world. For just a moment, I allowed myself the hope that Alahna wanted the cub's fur, but one look at her adorable scrunched-up face as she made cooing sounds to the creature instantly destroyed that hope.
"Please Brogan?"
Ah, dryck, I cursed, realizing I wouldn't be able to say nyck to her.
"Looks like somebody is getting a pet," Cassair slapped my shoulder, grinning. I gave him a warning glare and put all my irritation in it.
