Justice for the Forest-Beasts

Chapter Seven - In Which the Aristocrats Travel

Rain was intent on making the group's journey a fun and interesting one. Xe told the twins about the healing properties of the plants they passed by, pointed out shapes in the clouds, and told them which birds sang which songs in which seasons. The three of them took turns telling stories and talking about the weird dreams they've had—Anything that would keep their minds occupied. Of course, it wasn't long before Estelle's feet began to hurt and her calves began to burn, shooting pain throughout her leg with each step that she took. Positioned unnaturally in her heeled boots, it felt as though the front halves of Estelle's feet were going to fall right off.

Eventually, the sun began to set and darkness enveloped the forest. Things felt more surreal and dangerous. Shadows elongated, concealing the three's surroundings and leaving their imagination to fill in the gaps. After a while of walking through the dark, the group rested alongside a creek. Rain explained the important difference between creeks and rivers. Xe also made a small campfire, which the twins used to warm their hands and faces. The twins found solace in the fire, as the forest and shadows around them became disfigured by the setting sun. The unknown completely surrounded the trio, lingering in the darkness. All Estelle could see were the creepy, spider-like branches growing from their gnarled tree trunks.

What Estelle felt far more than fear was hunger. The emptiness of her stomach hung like a weight in her gut. She silently wished that they'd waited until after dinner to save Rain, as she hadn't gotten to eat anything since the kettle corn they snacked on together.

"You want me find food?" Rain asked the twins.

"What do you think you're going to do, hunt?" Estelle asked, "I think it's too dark for that."

"I fish," Rain said simply.

"Do you want us to help?" Lucian hesitantly signed.

"No... think you can not," Rain said, "No tools. Fish with hands."

"You can fish with just your hands?" Estelle asked. She was amazed by just the idea of Rain catching a fish without any spear or fishing pole.

Rain nodded, "You watch?"

"Alright, sure," Estelle said as she stood up.

The twins followed Rain along the creek, traveling a short distance to the river that fed into the creek. Here, the moon glistened across the water's quickly moving surface. No longer under the cover of a whole forest of trees, Estelle and Lucian could see a bit better. They watched as Rain sat down and submerged xyr arm in the river water. "Takes long," xe told them quietly as they both sat behind xem to watch.

The three waited in silence, watching the water. It didn't take long at all before Estelle and Lucian felt terribly bored of sitting and watching, only for nothing to happen. Rain stayed as still as a statue, despite the river's frigid temperature and rugged force, threatening to pull xem under.

After ten minutes or so, Rain finally jumped and grunted in surprise. There was a clear struggle, and it took Estelle a moment to realize that xe had gotten a grasp on an actual fish. The fish had swam near xyr arm, and xe swiftly grabbed it by the gills, grasping its body with xyr other hand, before xe tossed it onto the beach.

"Cold, cold, cold," Rain said, shivering as xe shook the river water off xyr arms.

"How did you even do that?" Estelle asked, practically gawking at Rain.

"Reflexes and practice," Rain answered simply. Xe grabbed the fish xe'd caught by the tail, but xe put xyr fingers in its gills again when it began to flail. Rain then brought the fish back to the campfire, followed closely by the twins. On their quick walk to the fire, xe collected a rock and a sturdy stick. Rain took a moment to warm xyr hands up by the fire, before xe sat down with the fish in xyr lap. It was still flopping and trying desperately to breathe, though its eyes felt empty and lifeless. After watching Rain let the fish bleed out, Estelle had to completely avoid watching Rain prepare the fish. She supposed she had never really thought about the whole process that took place before she got to eat fish, but she now realized that it was a gross and gory process.

After a short while, Rain had skewered the fish and held it over the fire to cook. The three chatted quietly until the fish was cooked thoroughly and Rain separated it into three mostly equal portions. "Not much. Eat again in morning, when sky light," xe said to the twins as the fish had been roasting.

The three scarfed down their portions, enjoying every bit of it. Estelle usually didn't like to eat fish that much, but it seemed to taste better when she was hungry and exhausted. Even without any seasoning at all, the fish tasted wonderful.

After dinner, the three laid down to sleep. The twins were awake long after Rain had fallen asleep, as they didn't find the ground nearly as comfortable as a bed. The dirt was full of rocks that stabbed their backs and arms, they were cold and uncomfortable without any blankets, and Estelle couldn't help but to assume that every sound she heard was a monstrous beast, which had come to eat them all. The twins weren't used to sleeping beside the rustling in the underbrush and the flowing creek.

Eventually, the sun rose, and the group woke up alongside it. When the three were ready to walk again, that was exactly what they did. They had nothing else they could do.

The group rested once in the morning and once again in the afternoon. After that break, Rain told the twins, "Very close. Follow river little more, we arrive." The twins were happy to hear the news, but they were also too tired to respond.

Only a few more grueling steps later, Estelle spotted something along the other side of the river, crouched down in the trees and brush. It was only a short moment before Rain saw it too, and xe stopped walking immediately. Lucian almost bumped into xem, and quickly shot Estelle a nasty look.

The animal's head rose suddenly to look up at the three, impossible to miss since they were so noisy. Now able to see the animal past the underbrush, Estelle realized that it was not an animal, but instead a beast. A water-beast. It had teal, scaly skin and short, brown hair. Two horns stuck out from the top of its head and it had an odd complexion—eyes with black sclerae and thin pupils, a snub nose, and lips so thin that they were barely there at all.

When the water-beast saw the group, its face lit up with excitement. It hurried over to the group, unafraid to cross the water on foot. The river wasn't deep, but the current was certainly strong enough to carry Estelle or Lucian away. Regardless, the water-beast powered through and made it look easy, coming out on the other side in mere seconds. The twins both took a step back in defense, as the water-beast approached them. They would have already run off if it wasn't for the fact that Rain wasn't scared. In fact, xe seemed as excited as the water-beast.

"I'm so happy to see you, Rain! But what are you doing back so soon? And who've you got here?" the beast said.

"Friends," Rain told the beast, before turning towards the twins, "This is Puddle. Co from the village."

Estelle forced a kind expression and a cheerful voice as she greeted Puddle, "It's lovely to meet you, Puddle. My name is Estelle, and this is my brother, Lucian."

Estelle figured that strange names were just a northern thing, or perhaps a beast thing. Puddle had an even weirder name than Rain did, and co also smelled like a fish just about as much as co looked like one.

"City folk, huh. They always did talk fancy down there. Dress fancy, too—just look at those get-ups. Were you walking in those things?" Puddle said.

"They're the prince and princess," Rain told co. Xe had an almost proud smile as xe said it.

"They're the what now?" Puddle looked at Rain like co thought xe was crazy, "You went and brought literal royalty back with you? Do you know who we are, Rain?"

"Don't worry," Estelle interrupted, "We promise that we're not looking to get you into any trouble at all. In fact, I'm sure we're going to get into plenty of trouble just for being here. We're seeking to get away from home for a while, that is all."

Puddle looked at the twins with a skeptical expression, narrowing cos eyes at them. "Alright, alright. I'll believe you. Mind if I walk the rest of the way to camp with you?"

Rain shook xyr head, "Do join, do join."