Bound by a Blade (PauPat)

Chapter Five - The Constellation

Pau woke with a start, sitting up. His eyes darted back and forth as he tried to stay still and listen. The thick layer of snow on the ground outside his tent made the light footsteps more audible. Pau reached over and set his hand on the handle of his sword.

After a few moments, the sound of the footsteps faded into silence. Pau slowly stood up, holding his sword at his side as he carefully exited his tent.

The footprints went right past the tent. Pau shivered, partially from the sudden cold, and partially from fear and intrigue. He quickly looked around before starting to walk along the path the prints had created, his sword still held firmly at his side.

It wasn't long before he managed to catch a glimpse of who he was following. The figure was at a full stop, causing Pau to stop as well. He dove behind a tree just as the figure turned around to look back. After a few moments of holding his breath, Pau sighed in relief when he heard the quick footsteps headed away from him. After a bit more waiting, he slowly looked to where he had seen the figure before, just to be safe. Sure enough, they were gone. Pau continued to follow the trail of footsteps.

Paranoid about being seen, the mercenary stopped whenever he heard even the slightest noise. He drew his sword when he heard rustling beside him, only to find that it was a small squirrel. He couldn't help but smile as he kneeled down and held out his hand. "Hey," he whispered. "C'mere, little guy."

After a few short moments, the squirrel scurried toward him and sniffed at his hand. It quivered as he gently lifted it in his hands, but it didn't struggle against him.

"Shh, shh," Pau soothed, gently stroking the small creature's head. "I'm not going to hurt you."

The squirrel quickly calmed down, causing Pau's warm smile to widen. "You're so small," he observed. "You must be a young one. Are you looking for your mother?"

Pau sighed as the rodent curled up in his hands. "Yeah... Me too." He stood up, struggling since his hands were full. "Don't worry, buddy. I'll help you find her."

He began walking in the direction the squirrel had approached from, continuing to pet its head as he held it close to his lean stomach. He continued whispering to it as he looked around for any sign of its missing parents.

A nest, he thought. A trail of acorns, clawed bark, anything!

Pau let out a small gasp when he heard more rustling, but quickly froze and went completely quiet. He cringed when the squirrel began to squeak and chatter, trying to escape from his hands.

I'm done for.

The squirrel jumped out of his hands and ran toward the rustling, and to Pau's surprise, more chattering was heard. He turned toward the noise and saw it with a larger squirrel, wrapping its tail around his newfound friend. Pau smiled as he kneeled down beside them. "Is this your mother?" he asked. "She found us before we found her. Impressive."

The young man felt like his heart was melting when his squirrel friend rushed over to him and rubbed up against his knee. He chuckled as it went back to its mother, and both creatures ran off into the forest.

Pau slowly stood up with a sigh. "Be safe, little guy..."

That was when he heard a distant sound.

He instinctively froze and held his breath to listen. The sound was beautiful, giving him a warm feeling. It seemed to cut through the eerie darkness of the thin forest, and was almost alluring.

Someone was singing.

Pau began to follow the sound. It was frightening to him that he felt obligated to find the person singing, but he was completely mesmerized. Since he had heard stories about women of the sea luring men with their beautiful singing, he grew even more frightened when he saw the lovely frozen lake in the near distance. Still, he continued to pursue the mysterious singer.