The Stray

Scars, Pt. 3

By then, V's crossed arms had fallen away in shock and horror, and Mat was holding Meri with fierce protectiveness. "I guess they knew my mom would never sacrifice me to save her own skin." Timothy said softly. Fresh tears threatened to spill from his eyes once more, and he barely held them back. "I... I shouldn't say any more with a child in the room. I don't want another kid to experience what happened next, even secondhand." And he didn't want to relive it, even with seven years of distance.

"Holy shit." V breathed. "So you're.... What, a refugee? A fugitive? Why were you in the Deepshadow?"

Timothy's fists clenched. "I was alone when I made it to Berrygrove. And I didn't trust anyone anymore. I figured a cursed forest would be a good place to give any hunters th'slip." And, at the time, he'd been ready to bite it in the woods. He didn't say that, though. "As for what I am, I'm neither of those. I'm the Witch of the Deepshadow. I'm an alchemist, a hunter, a survivor. I've stood on my own two feet even when they were torn an' bleeding. And I'll never be a victim again." For a brief, satisfying moment, Timothy felt as big as the title he'd dropped. But then his aches piped up, and his extremely empty stomach hurt, and his fatigue weighed him down. The warmth faded away, leaving him just an empty, sad wolf in a cold bed. The witch of a burning forest. "I... I was..."

"Timothy..." Meri sniffled. Mat held her just a little tighter. The kid couldn't say anything to help at this point. Realistically, he was a dead man now that they— and this mayor Meri was so desperate to change— had seen the mark. He didn't even know why he'd spilled his guts. It was only a matter of time before either they spilled that he was some kind of Lusundra mongrel, or that woman from earlier would. He'd be dead by daybreak, and that's if he was lucky. He didn't have an escape in him, not with the town on high alert. What could he even do...?

He didn't really register just how awfully guilty Valencia looked at first. He wasn't exactly at his best. But the dragoness had gone from shocked and horrified to angry and back again. "I... while you were out, and Mat was treating you, I took a look at your clan brand. It was burning pretty bright, and all. It's the real thing, as far as I can tell." She bit her lip. "Mat said the burn it leaves on your forehead happens sometimes when the Bonding is done wrong."

Timothy smiled bitterly. "I always kinda wondered. Guess I get to know before I bite it."

The dragoness gaped, and Meri twisted around in her brother's grip to yelp. "What?"

"It's only a matter of time before word gets out, then it's torches and pitchforks all over again." The wolf slowly, creakily swung his legs out to a sitting position. "Last time, I lost my tail. I'm fresh outta spare limbs, so I figure I'm probably done for." His head hung low.

So he didn't see Valencia scoff. "Yeah, like hell." He looked up slowly. The dragoness walked up, looming over him, and he expected his end to come immediately. But, she instead dropped into the bed beside him, lightly kicking him up from her weight. "So, I know you're Streneli, but you know here in civilization we have laws, right? Anyone tries to give you the ol' pitchfork special, and the town watch'll toss'em in the lockup. And, in case you missed my stole, I'm one of the watchmen." She tossed him a small grin. "We call th' thought of fighting me a deterrent, y'know?"

Timothy blinked. "One dragoness can't stop a mob."

"This dragoness probably could," she boasted, "But a town watch has more than one sentry to begin with. We run a tight ship. You have my word as the Fresa Town Watch's strongest that anyone who tries anything's gonna get laid out on the dirt, and that's a fact." Timothy just gaped.

"None of us are disclosing anything you've just told us, either." Mat said gently. The healer carried his sister over, and sat down in front of Timothy. "It'd be wrong." At Timothy's skeptical look, he added, "Also, I'd lose my license for violating your private medical information, and V'd lose her stole for putting you in danger.."