A soft shove at his side finally woke him, rolling him over onto his back and leaving him still fighting through the grogginess that plagued him.

“Not yet.”

There was a snort, a nervous sounding whicker and the stamp of a hoof just beside his body. Daniel cracked an eye open cautiously, pulling himself up onto his elbows and looking up at the blurry shape of his horse’s head in front of him. The clearing was empty save for the two of them, marked only by the collection of footprints that trailed through the snow all around him.

An arrow, half buried in the snow, was the only indication that, despite his confusion, he hadn’t been dreaming. It had been meant to kill him, strike him down before he even had a chance to blink, but something had stopped it. Just what had done that was a bit of a blur to him but he vaguely remembered the creatures and the sharp prick in his neck before things faded away entirely.

Daniel stood slowly, pushing off the ground shakily as something snapped beneath his boot. He took a step back, reaching down for the object that wouldn’t have looked any different than a thorn had it not been for the feathers tied to the back of it. Realization hit him and the dart fell from his hand, memory of what happened beginning bubble to the surface.

“Aurora! Where are you?” he called, cupping his hands on either side of his mouth.

No answer.

It was early morning by his best guess, eyes rising to where the sun was cresting over the horizon. But the more he thought about it, the more impossible it sounded. Despite how cold he was, shivering at the wetness of his jacket that clung to his body, he would have frozen had he been left there overnight.

Aurora was nowhere to be found but much to both his surprise and horror, it appeared they had taken him. No blood stained snow or shredded remains of a corpse indicated otherwise but Daniel wasn’t sure if he felt relieved or more terrified.

“Vex it all,” he swore under his breath, teeth chattering.

He moved to his horse’s side, grateful the animal had come back after having gone tearing into the woods before. Daniel shivered, pulling his scarf up over his nose and climbing shakily into the saddle again.

The bridge loomed before him, rumbling with the sound of the river far below. He wouldn’t dare cross it, not out of fear of the sheer drop below but because of what lay over on the other side.
Coward, he thought, half cursing the fact that nothing could convince him to ride over the land bridge. However, Daniel reminded himself as he swallowed, cowards were often the ones to survive.

“Aurora! Please, can you hear me?”

His horse hopped upwards, snorting and nearly tearing the reins from his hand as it lashed its head from side to side. Riding across alone would accomplish nothing at all and would only mean death for him. If Aurora was still alive, Daniel couldn’t get him back alone.

“Sir!”

Daniel hadn’t heard them approach, whirling his horse around to face the group of advancing riders as they rode into the clearing. He recognized the woman leading the party, one he’d gone on patrol with before but couldn’t quite recall the name of. His head was still wrapped in fog, mind blurred and thoughts running together.

Aurora was the one thing he could focus on.

“Sir, we’ve been searching for half of the day for you and Officer Aurora.”

Daniel nodded, unable to reply right away and nearly cringing when Aurora’s name was coupled with the title. He may have hated many things but being known as an officer, an even greater affiliation with the Dravara, was something that infuriated Aurora.

One of the Dravara cleared his throat and Daniel looked up, not having realized he closed his eyes. “I’m sorry, I just…woke up.”

“Excuse me, sir?”

“We were ambushed,” Daniel answered, reaching up to rub the back of his neck with a gloved hand.

“I’m sorry, but ambushed by what exactly? Are you hurt?”

Daniel sighed, unsure of what to say and dreading having to explain just what had happened. The creatures of the Rift killed, slaughtered men as they were returning from patrols, gutted horses with one swipe of their claws; they didn’t take prisoners.

“We were ambushed by them,” he paused, pointing back at the bridge. “They took Aurora and left me here. I don’t remember much…just being hit by something-“

“You must be mistaken, sir. I don’t think they take-“

“No, you are mistaken. They took him…he’s gone.”

~ ~ ~ ~

Unlike Daniel who had been woken by the soft muzzle of his horse, Aurora didn’t have such a gentle awakening. Something was ripped away from in front of his face, allowing light in and leaving him to clamp his eyes shut against it. A quiet groan escaped him as he squinted, venturing only to open his eyes briefly before they slipped closed again.

His hands were tied, bound in rope, and he was vaguely aware of the hat tipping forward to cover much of his face from view. He could hear them, others in the room or whatever place he’d woken up in, but just how many was impossible to tell. But the sounds of breathing, a low rumbling growl, and the soft padding of footfalls behind him only made his location abundantly clear.

Aurora staggered to his feet only to be shoved back down to his knees again.

“You will kneel,” a voice growled, thick with an accent that made it difficult to understand.

He shook his head, feeling a heavy paw, or what felt like one, being placed on his shoulder to keep him there. Speech was something that had never been mentioned in his years with the Dravara and Aurora could have sworn his heart nearly burst out of his chest the moment he heard a voice. “You can speak. I’m not as mad as I thought.”

The feeling of the paw was replaced with the feeling of claws prickling through his jacket. Aurora breathed in sharply, gritting his teeth and stiffening until the grip relaxed and a growl rumbled out through the air. He didn’t dare look up, heart hammering in his chest as he stared down at the dirt floor beneath him.

“If you trust him, why harm him?”

A low growl came in answer to the other’s words, sounding from behind Aurora as a garbled words were exchanged between the two. He swallowed, cautiously moving to where he could see the claw tipped feet of the creature before him, catching the flash of something he could only assume was a tail, long and pliable like a cat’s tail.

Aurora swallowed, trying to contain what he refused to believe was fear. “Why am I here? Do I not have the right to know?”

“You have nothing,” one voice grumbled.

A different growl sounded from the other. “He is here for-“

“He is not to be trusted.”

“Apologies, Shaah.”

Aurora smiled bitterly. “You speak my language quite well. How did you learn?”

“Look up. You are hard to understand when facing down.”

Aurora ignored him.

“Where is my friend?”

“Back with your kind. He was left where he fell,” the first answered, pausing briefly to let out a huff, “unharmed.”

“I’m not sure that shooting us with…”

One of the figures snorted. “You are unharmed, yes?”

“It still seems a bit primitive, does it not?”

Silence fell for a brief moment.

“Stand, Aurora. I only wish to speak. No harm will come if you hear what I have to say.”

Nodding, Aurora swallowed as he struggled to get to his feet, apprehensive about actually laying eyes on what his mind was assuming was a nightmarish creature. His knee wobbled as he stood, the same that he’d hurt ages ago after confronting Aldwyn for the first time. It plagued him enough for his limp to be ever present but not enough to where he truly noticed the favoring in his gait. His head swam, spots flashing before his eyes, but everything seemed to clear the moment his gaze locked with the figure standing before him.

Big was an understatement.

Monstrous didn’t seem right either, too paralyzingly terrible to describe the creature that stood before him on its hind legs with arms, thick as a man’s leg and covered in a coat of dark gray fur, crossed in front of the barrel of its chest. Feline was his first thought judging by the short muzzle and the rounded ears, tufted with black fur, on its head.

“I understand,” Aurora said, eyes still fixed on the blue gaze of the creature.

It snorted, folding its lips up into a dissatisfied snarl and shaking the mane, something that trickled down from his head and down towards its back. The creature pointed one digit at him and Aurora watched as a claw slid out, curved and wicked sharp. “I have said nothing. What do you understand?”

“This is a dream. I’ll soon wake up with the Dravara to realize that none of this is real-“

“You felt my claws. Would you feel them in a dream?”

Aurora frowned, turning to look back at the second who was much leaner, lighter in color to the point of being almost snowy white rather than the coal gray of the other. He, Aurora settled on, was marked much in the same way with the ringlet spots a few shades darker than the color of his fur. However, his eyes were darker, face a good deal softer in features and lacking the scars that the other possessed on his face.

“This is impossible,” Aurora said, laughing bitterly.

The first snorted, shaking his head. “This is no dream. We offer no harm. You will be returned to your Dravara-“

“Believe me, they are far from mine.”

“Aurora-“

“H-how do you know my name?”

A growl was his only reply before the second swiped him over the head with a heavy paw, sending him staggering sideways with a number of mumbled curses. His head was already pounding and the fear clawing at his gut wasn’t made at lesser when the creature struck.

“Do you have no respect?”

“He does not know.”

Bantrem, the lighter of the two, backed away with ears pinned back against his head as he moved to cut the bonds on Aurora’s wrists. Part of him wanted to still believe it was a dream and he supposed that was also the part that was keeping his terror from bubbling over entirely. He was scared as much as he wanted to deny it, but panicking after they’d told him they wanted no trouble would get him nowhere.

“I’ll listen but first I need to be sure we both understand something.”

“Speak then.”

Aurora nodded, reaching down to feel for the compass in his pocket and watching as both of the creatures stiffened warily. “I am not,” he paused, bringing his hand back to his side again, “nor have I ever been loyal to the Dravara. I’m a slave and if this has something to do with them, I’m the wrong person for you to speak with. My friend Daniel could tell you more but he’s useless back with them. Secondly, I’m going to pretend for a moment that I’m not dreaming and that I’m going to believe everything you tell me-“

“Why would we lie?” Shaah demanded.

“Let him speak,” Bantrem suggested.

“Do you have names?” he asked. “I want to know your names and what exactly you want from me.”

The larger of the two grunted in what he could only assume was amusement. “You were right. He is not like the rest.”

“Different now?” Aurora asked, swallowing.

“Impossible to control.”

Aurora frowned, confused and still wondering just why they had taken him. If the accounts he’d heard were correct, something was very wrong with the entire situation. Perhaps, by some twist of fate, he’d been taken by the wrong Rift creatures.

“Impossible to control,” he repeated, nodding slowly.

“You are unlike many. Most would cry,” Shaah replied gruffly, looking hesitantly at Bantrem, “or screech…scream and run.”

He found himself laughing in spite of the situation. “I might just be an imbecile.”

The two looked at each other, mumbling a few words and glancing back at him unsurely.

“We…are not familiar with that.”

“Stupid.”

Shaah’s ears flattened and a snarl rumbled in his throat. “You have no-“

Aurora scrambled backwards when Shaah advanced, holding his hands out in front of him. “Easy, I was talking about myself. It wasn’t aimed at you.”

“You asked for names,” the other said, looking towards Aurora as Shaah stepped back once more. “I am Bantrem. I found you and decided it was best to bring you here.”

“Shaah, I allowed it.”

“I’d introduce myself but you already know my name. Now, how can I help the two of you gentle...” he trailed off, unsure of just what to call them.

Silence.

“Do you lead them?” Shaah asked, his tone devolving into a growl.

Aurora shook his head. “No, I just try to make life as difficult as possible for the one who does.”

“As I said, it is still the female.”

“Bantrem, let him speak.”

He shrugged. “She’s a vile creature, what more can I say? You have met her then, haven’t you? I wasn’t aware of any contact between the Dravara and…your kind.”

“There is none that does not result in death,” Bantrem hissed.

Shaah growled something to him and Bantrem relaxed, still bristling but only quietly staring down at the ground with ears folded back against his head. Aurora cleared his throat, glancing nervously towards the door. “How do you know Rowena? You say there isn’t any peaceful contact between the Dravara and your kind but how do you speak my language?”

Shaah’s ears flicked backwards. “A traitor to the Dravara came with another of my kind to help us once.”

“I don’t know anything about that. What happened to them? No one to my knowledge as ever-“

“We are unsure,” Shaah replied, shoulders moving up in something that resembled a stiff shrug. “It is our belief that he is no longer alive. Rowena did not like what he did and we believe he is gone because of it.”

“Did they ever give a name?”

Bantrem opened his mouth as if to speak but stopped when Shaah’s eyes narrowed, tail lashing behind him. Aurora swallowed nervously. “I’m going to assume you don’t know it.”

“He did but we don’t say it. Many sun cycles ago he escaped with a member of another clan and came to us. He taught her to speak and after he was gone, she began to teach. He showed us there was light in your kind. You are capable of guilt just as we are.”

“I don’t understand.”

Shaah’s lips curled into a snarl for a brief moment before he turned his back quickly, claws sliding in an out in annoyance before his entire body shuddered in a sigh. The hair on the back of Aurora’s neck stood on end and he contemplated just how far he’d be able to make it before they caught up with him. The tent was empty save for the three of them and the door was just behind him, an easy escape if they weren’t so quick.

“You have been told nothing.”

“I’m sorry but-“

“I assumed you would know what they do!” Shaah spat, turning suddenly. “Do you know why the Dravara are here?”

“I don’t understand-“

“Do you know why the Dravara are here?” Shaah roared.

Aurora could feel his legs shaking beneath him as he took a breath, desperately trying to calm the racing in his chest. “They protect against…”

“Go on, you will not offend.”

He sighed. “There are dangers in the east that threaten the safety of the common people and their way of life. The Dravara protect against what lies over the Rift. That is what Rowena swears and that truly is all I know.”

“No harm has come to you, has it?” Shaah said calmly, much too level for the snarl in his words only moments earlier.

Aurora shook his head.

“You are lying to us. You are friends with the man who is her secondary, yes?”

“If you mean Daniel, he’s her chief officer. He doesn’t tell me about the inner workings of the Dravara. We scarcely talk about them at all.”

Aurora took a few steps back when Shaah began to growl again.

“If you want to kill me then just please get it over with. I will leave no one behind and I am beginning to doubt a soul would miss me. But I am starting to think you don’t want my life, do you?”

Shaah fell silent.

“It has been a long time since we have met one who does not flee at the sight of us. But it has been even longer since we have met one who holds so little darkness.”

Aurora laughed before he could stop himself. “If you are looking for kindness, look somewhere else. I can assure you there are plenty of other more kind men of the Dravara willing to listen. I’m surely not one of them.”

“I do not want anything of you. I ask you only listen to what I have to say and a very small amount of trust. Is this agreeable?” Shaah asked, paying no heed to what he’d just said.

He nodded his head and Shaah started towards him slowly, walking outside and motioning for him to follow. “Come with me.”

For a moment he hesitated, glancing up at the other that remained staring at him in the tent calmly. Aurora swallowed, reaching once more to feel the weight of the compass in his hand until finally, for some reason he truly didn’t understand, he followed.

Next Chapter: Chapter 18