Memories (Of Dreams and Demons)

The Feral Hunt

This is the first rough draft for Chapter 37 - The Feral Hunt - plot and action outline, needs polish and to paint the background scene.  

An uneasy quiet washes over our little fortifications; no sound of storm or foreboding winds.

With our campfire now replaced by Chi and Naoko's sphere of gold, not even the low cracking and spitting of flames fills our space. Only the occassional cricket, prattling alongside a solitary frog somewhere out of sight, can be heard.

There we stand, work paused and silent, enjoying a moment of quiet peace, our eyes resting on the magic woven of light. Only now does it dawn on again me what it truly is: love's light. Chi's words all those years ago return to me: only love's light can save the Realm.

And here it sits before us, forged out of the very air by a talking rabbit and mysterious girl. No longer just untamed swirls or rays of illumination, it sits as if commanded, controlled. Humming away, slightly bobbing up and down in a forest of darkness, surrounded by a pile of stones amounting to a single days work. Will this be enough?

Chai crosses his arms and frowns, squaring his shoulders, arching his back into a stretch. Chi caresses his axe and tightens his belt. Zen reties loose strands of hair into her ponytail to clear her sight. Actions from the three all as if to prepare for a battle about to be upon us.

And then the howls begin, heralding the battle that was expected. Far off in the distance, surreal, eery calls from something far beyond natural roll across the base of the mountain range far to the north.

Zen taps Naoko on the shoulder, and passes her a well-used dagger of bone and steel. Naoko's eyes go wide, and she gratefully nods at the rabbit. As I watch, Naoko flips the dagger around casually between her fingers as she turns to face the sounds. She's been practicing more than she let on.

Whatever they are, whatever beast bellows such horrifying sounds, there are at least a dozen of them, alerting one another, cheering on a hunt about to begin. I know we are the prey.

As Chai stands unmoving, I catch something else, completely unexpected. Tiny wisps of shadow, thinner than stands of hair, slowly float up and around his forearms, dance across his shoulders.

When basked in the light of the sphere for too long, they lose substance, slink away beneath his clothes, only to reappear string again a short gime later. Little rivers of shadow using his body as their landmass.

"Chai," Chi snaps, "at peace, old friend."

Chai jumps a little at Chi's voice, even battle-hardened as he is, and looks over his shoulder. When he too sees the shadows upon his skin, an uneasy shock takes over, and he steps closer to the sphere. The shadows vanish.

Why was shadow wrapping around Chai? Has he somehow been caught by it already. Chi saw it too and covered it up for him. Is Chi part of it, too? Can we even trust the rabbits? Thd sad truth is we barely know any of them; I need to be more careful.

"Shadow," I nudge Naoko, "I saw it on Chai, did you?"

Vuitton certainly did, he stares wide-eyed at the large rabbit, yet he stays silent. Alia's tail twitches, and her eyes dart about everywhere but Chai.

I study him, saying nothing. Naoko chirps up, "I saw it too!"

Chi turns towards us, his face grave, "at peace too, children. Shei was lost to us only recently. Chai.. mourns her still."

Naoko's expression changes instantly to a deep sadness beyond her years, "oh no."

"All will be well, I promise," Chi continues, "he suffers greatly at the hands of the shadow, now caught, but you need not worry."