Rosha

Happy Ending

They continued to follow, spotting new tracks before others did. They realized they were heading towards a cave.

Be careful, Rosha thought. There might be wild animals.

I never would have thought about that.

Ha ha.

Jolinar wished she had more than a spear as she approached. Her sarcastic joke wasn't so amusing as she saw the tracks change from walking to being dragged. Blood. Lots of blood.

We need to go to him.

"Hunter!" She called out, feeling that she was walking into an ambush. "He's this way!"

She followed through, finding a large cat dragging Faron.

The hunter approached from behind.

"They hunt in pairs," the hunter warned.

Faron moaned as he was dropped. The cat growled.

Shit! Rosha thought. He's still alive. We have to help him.

"Hey!" Said the hunter, getting the cat's attention on him.

The cat turned to him.

"Grab Faron," he ordered, stomping his foot to keep the cat's focus on him.

Then the others came as Jolinar approached. The cat was startled by the crowd though. It grabbed Faron and lept on top of the cave. It kept running. Jolinar saw another cat follow.

"No!" The hunter called out.

The other cat..., Jolinar thought with dread. We would have walked under it without ever seeing it.

"We can try to follow," Jolinar offered.

"You are willing?"

"Yes."

"Thank you... Thank you! Thank you!"

They tracked for half a day before finding what was left of Faron's body.

The hunter fell to his knees.

"I'm sorry."

He was quiet.

"We can bring...him back."

He nodded.

Jolinar carefully gathered his bones. Nothing else was left.

"I don't know who you are," he said, "but you are a remarkable woman. I even lost the tracks at time, but you..." He stood. "Thank you. He was my friend."

~+~+~.

Rosha continued working for Bash, but she had to leave when she spotted the Ashrak.

She went to Nasya, for now, and she quickly found a job with the hunter.

I think he likes us, Rosha thought. That could be awkward.

I think he's married.

You aren't that naïve.

He wasn't married, and he did like her, but he was respectful.

The Ashrak is near, Jolinar thought.

I feel it too.

They couldn't feel him because of a drug he took, but they could almost feel a dread closing in on them.

The next time the Nasyans trade, we will go with them. Then we'll leave behind both planets.

~+~+~.