Talos and Cyrus

Chapter 4 - Visit from the Wicked

The sun was beginning to set when Cyrus finally stopped Flossie by a small creek several yards from the dirt path. The old elkorse drank from it gratefully, her silver streaked tail flicking back and forth in an attempt to keep the bugs away. After she had finished, Cyrus led her to a gnarled tree and tied her reins to one of its protruding roots. Almost at once, Flossie dipped her head low to the ground and began to graze on the fresh grass. Cyrus then proceeded to unstrap the packs from her back, his fingers working at the impossible knots. It took him many agonizing attempts and a great deal of cursing before he finally got them loose, lugging the bags onto the ground. They were heavier than he had expected. He laid out all that was inside on a particularly dry patch of grass. A sack of potatoes, some clothes, and a pot were in one while in the other, a water pouch, a cracked dagger, a matted coat of buffalaaru fur, and four half crowns. Cyrus stared at the silver coins. No doubt they had been his mother's, she had most likely snuck them into the packs when his father wasn't looking. Cyrus gathered the coins in his hand, weighing them for a moment before letting them fall past his fingers and into his leather satchel. It was the most money he had ever had on his person at one time.

Afterwards, he began to work on a fire. Cyrus found a pile of twigs and a few sticks dotted around the creek, fortunately mostly dry, and carried them back to his temporary camp. He attempted to create a spark with two of the driest sticks, wincing when they squeaked as he rubbed them together. After several minutes, when his arms were beginning to weaken from fatigue, a thin trail of smoke rose out of the pile of twigs that he bunched together. Soon after, the smoke was soon accompanied by tiny flames of orange peeking out of the pile. Cyrus smiled to himself. It was the first time he had created a fire on his own. Then, he began to make his supper.

Stars dotted the black sky when Cyrus finally sank his teeth into a warm potato; it had taken ages for his dinner to cook. The fire just wasn't able to get high enough to lap at the bottom of his pot, which he had filled with water and raw potatoes.

Afterwards, when the hunger that pained his stomach was nearly satisfied, Cyrus lay the fur coat out on the grass next to the fire. He sat on it for a while gazing up at the twinkling stars far above his head. Flossie swayed sleepily beside the gnarled tree, her ancient joints creaking quietly as they struggled to support her weight. Then, she plopped down, resting her head on the same root she was tied to, and dozed off instantly. Cyrus smirked at her. He lay down a few moment later, his hands cradling his head. It was midsummer and the night air was crisp, but never cold. Before long, drowsiness started to slow Cyrus' breathing and weigh down his eyelids. He yawned.

The last thing he saw was a bird way, way up in the dark clouds, soaring miles away. Sleep overtook him.

SNAP!

Cyrus jerked awake and blinked against the bright morning light as his eyes stung. His head throbbed painfully and his mind swam with jumbled memories of the dream he was just ripped away from. When he regained his vision, he saw Flossie pawing at the ground anxiously with a chipped hoof. She was whinnying loudly and looking about nervously with wide eyes.

It was only then that Cyrus see his invaders.

Feletics, hairless and gray creatures with the body of a feline, the temper of a snake, and the cunning of a fox. Oddly enough, they lacked ears, rendering them deaf. From what Cyrus had read in Aeredale's library, they were incredibly dangerous and deadly, especially when in numbers.

They were three surrounding the charred fire. They slunk around, hissing at Flossie and each other, sniffing at the packs and pulling out objects to investigate them further. The creatures were larger than he had imagined, the smallest nearly half of Flossie's size and the largest could easily have reached Cyrus' chest. As he watched, one of the feletics flexed their paws, showing off razor thin claws, and swiped at Flossie, leaving light scratches on her shoulder. The elkorse cried out and kicked wildly at the feletic but the creature retreated away quickly to its two other companions. They bared their teeth in Flossie's direction.