The Sun was especially beaming today, any time spent in the shade was valuable. An ensemble of birds singing their own tunes still blended together to create harmony. Vibrant colored plants, running water from nearby streams, and every manner of animal minding their own without a care in the world.
From the bushes and trees, a thick coated hare ran out, and shortly behind it, were two women paying it no mind.
“Heyyy, how far until the next city? I got this itch and it needs something hard and-”
“We’re not going to a town, stupid. I guess I can’t blame you for forgetting because I also told you not to talk about your bottom lips…several times.”
“I’m sorry, Justyne, but if you were in my shoes, you know how dissatisfied I was about my last appointment. You pulled me out too soon.”
“What part of being fugitives do you not understand? Until those warrants expire, we have to stay hidden, Nara.”
Since winter in the country of Eclain, two girls have been traveling on foot, avoiding the law and establishments with their faces on posters outside of them.
Justyne is a dark-skinned woman in her early twenties, she has curly brown hair and golden eyes. She wears black, circle framed glasses, small but dangling cross earrings, and a white choker. She’s dressed in a black-green dress with a portion cut out to expose her hips and legs. She’s usually always holding a staff or a book, but keeps them tucked away during rare occasions like this.
Nara, her best friend, is also in her early twenties. She has white long hair typically kept in a messy, pinwheel-esque fashion. She’s dressed in black (a curse on a summer day like this.) from head to toe. The most skin she has exposed are her upper legs, a shoulder, and her face. Around her neck is a bandana for quick access. She has an assortment of knives and sheaths to hold them in, as well as small and inconspicuous packs to hold other things. She’s a bit smaller and flatter than Justyne, which sparks jealousy every now and then, but helps with her profession.
Two best friends, a wizardess and a rogue, both on the run.
“Once this is all over, we need to join a guild. Earn money like everyone else.” Justyne wobbled with each step, fanning herself.
“Every party we tried joining up with already had a spellcaster and rogue. There’s a crazy deficit in big and burly frontline fighters. Most men are chumps!”
“Chumps, huh? You said that about the last man you tried stealing from. Remind me, what happened?”
“Ohmygoshhh you’re still bringing that up?”
“It’s the whole reason we’re out here! You tried robbing a nobleman, are you crazy?!”
“You don’t get rich without being a little insane to try something new, mamas.” Nara rubbing her thumb against her index and middle finger, side-eyeing Justyne with a smirk.
Reaching a breaking point in the forest, the girls found the stream of water they sought after. The crystal blue reflected their faces, and what was mirrored was the look of carnal desire. Simultaneously, they dropped and submerged their heads into the running water. Whether they drank or not didn’t matter, they were just happy to cool off,
“Ahhh~ That’s the stuff!” Justyne snapped her head back up, feeling refreshed. Nara kept hers in for a while longer, nearly fighting the stream in order to not fall in. From across the water and in more shrubbery, a brief but high pitch screech was heard.
“What was that?” Justyne questioned, but received no answer. She saw Nara still underwater and tapped her shoulder. When that didn’t work, she pulled back her hair.
“Ow! What the hell you do that for?!”
“There’s something in those bushes, I think it just killed something…”
“Like an animal? You think it’s a bear?”
“Gods I hope not.” Justyne shuddered from the thought.
“I hope so, I’m starving.” Nara pulled a knife from the sheathe on her thigh and stood up. Now in the mindset, she stepped across the water silently, as though she didn’t exist.
“Nara! Wait a second!” Justyne pleaded in a loud whisper, when Nara kept going, she decided to follow along. Though she tried to stay quiet, her steps splashed in the water. Nara held her hand back, signaling her to stay still. She tuned out all other insignificant noise, all that mattered was her beating heart, and the sound of flesh tearing from bone. She gently gilded her fingers against the shrubbery, finding the precise spot to pull to get the best view of what she’s dealing with. In one swift motion, she pulled against the bush and drove her knife towards her unsuspecting victim. Though, as soon as she initiated, she forced herself to stop. It wasn’t a bear, and it didn’t seem to be phased by Nara’s attempt and its life.
“Yo, Justyne, come here.”
“F-For what?! It’s a bear, isn’t it?! Just kill it!” She held her hands tightly together, looking away from Nara in case blood was involved.
“It’s not a bear, it’s a kid.”
“...A kid?” Justyne slowly opened her eyes and finally crossed the stream, standing in it for so long nearly froze her feet. Upon looking, she found out Nara was telling the truth.
“Then again, I think it’s a kid. What’s up with the tail and ears?”
“Must be a Beastfolk, but what’s one doing all the way out here? Their country is in the most northwestern part of Tritia. Poor baby must be so hot with all of this hair.” Justyne patted the child's head, who didn’t pay any mind and continued eating. She lifted the hair covering its eyes to get a good look. The child was dark skinned as well, but more on the tanner side. Their hair and bushy tail was black with red streaks in it. Their eyes were green with hints of lavender in them. Its palms had a thick padding on them.
“Awww, look how cute she is.” Nara scratched under the child’s chin, resulting in a slow and involuntary tail wag,
“We can’t leave her out here, she could die.” Justyne picked the child up and held them in her arms.
If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.
“So we’re bringing her along? While we’re stuck in this mess?”
“We’ll make it work. Come on, if we hurry we’ll make it to Village Illbrooke before the sun falls.” Justyne pressed onwards, finding new strength. Nara returned her knife to its rightful place, liking the idea of finally settling down.
- ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
Illbrooke Village - Evening
The world has started to cool down, and the end was just in sight. Village Illbrooke. A small and remote location in the middle of nowhere, and that’s no exaggeration. Home to just a couple hundred people. Justyne and Nara walked in through the front gate of the village. While grass was all around on the outside of the village, the inside was removed to make a smooth gravel path. Folks finishing up chores and the enticing aroma of food filled the air. The scent alone was enough to wake up the child. It scrambled to break free from Justyne, but she held on tight.
“Well I’ll be, you are some ways away from the city. What brings you all the way out here?” An old man sitting on his rocking chair was the first to greet them, “The name’s Elmitz.” He tipped his straw hat and placed it back on his head.
“Oh, we’re just, um, adventurers! We’ve been on the road for a while.” Beads of sweat formed on her head, hoping word of their actions hasn’t spread too far.
“Say, I do recognize you two…yeah,” From under his chair, he pulled out a newspaper, “That’s right, you two are from my favorite headline! ‘Two wenches on the run after a botched attempt to steal from a noble family!’ Ain’t that something?!” Elmitz gave a hearty laugh.
“Wenches?!” Nara stomped her foot and squealed
“I guess the city knows about your antics.” Justyne sighed, but felt a pit in her stomach, “Sir, please, just let us go. No need to turn us in, she wasn’t even able to take anything. Just pretend we were never here.”
“You kiddin’ girl? Didn’t you hear what I said? In all of my years alive, there’s only been two headlines that brought me joy. This, and when that corrupt bastard Lord Pierce Saville died.” Elmitz chuckled, “You girls are heroes.”
“Huh? For real?” Nara questioned.
“Oh yeah, no doubt about it. Nobility doesn’t care one bit about folks like us. They’ll tax us higher than we can afford, and shove our requests into low priority. To them, we’re nothing more than ants for them to step all over. So when we hear about folks like you giving them their own medicine, we can’t help but be glad someone’s looking out for us.”
The smell of food became even stronger, like it was right next to them. The child finally broke free from Justyne’s hold and ran towards it.
“Hey!” She looked over and saw a woman standing there, holding a hot baking dish containing a casserole.
“You children must be starving. We have a spare home, it’s all yours if you’d like.” The woman said. From below, the child jumped with its arms extended upwards. It decided to climb up the woman and hang onto her shoulder. With its free hand, it pulled a small chunk of the casserole and ate it.
“Seriously?! We’d love that! At least until our warrants expire!” Justyne exclaimed.
“Stay for as long as you like, dear. This is a great place to raise your young.” The woman shifted her attention to the child and gave a warm, motherly smile.
“Is there a bath? What about beds, or a kitch-” An abrupt punch to the top of her head silenced Nara quickly.
“Don't mind her! Whatever we gotta do, we’ll do it! Work the farms, hunt for food, teach the children, we’ll do it! Thank you for having us!”
Within the village, a house on the hills became home for Justyne, Nara, and the child. They were given the casserole as a housewarming gift, but the child already ate half of it.
“Man, it feels good to finally settle down and call a place home.” Nara stretched across a wooden couch in the living room.
“Mmhm, but don’t get too comfortable. I’m also done filling the bath.”
“Okay? I’ll just go after you.”
“No, the three of us have to take one. This isn’t like the city with plumbing, the people in this region have to rely on rainfall for crops, as well as for drinking and bathing. Luckily, it rains quite a bit, but there’s no room for being selfish when it’s imperative to share.”
“Come on Justyneeee. Can’t you just create water? Creating something out of thin air is your thing.”
“Did you forget I specialize in fire? But don’t worry, my first course of action is to learn to wield water. For our sake and the people of this village. What will you do?”
“I’m more suited for thief stuff, and there aren't many people to steal from.”
“But you also have a delicate touch, and are excellent in tracking and hunting. There’s plenty you can do.” Justyne dipped her finger in the water and was satisfied with the temperature. She took the pot and walked into the bathroom, “Let’s go.” Nara groaned but went anyway. The child sat on the toilet seat, watching Justyne pour the last pot into the bathtub.
She gleamed with excitement for her first hot bath since fleeing. She practically tore her clothes off and tossed them to the side. Her long legs and robust chest in full view, seeing her bare body was the sole reason Nara dreaded the idea of bathing with her friend. While she wasn’t a flat board, chest envy still existed. Nara went through her complex set up, unbuttoning and unzipping each component of her outfit.
“Do you think she’ll grow up bigger than you?” Justyne joked, taking off the child’s battered, plain shirt.
“Not funny!” She threw her bra at the back of Justyne's head.
“I’m sorry, you know I’m joking. You should be happy with your size, these things take a toll on my back.” She slid off the child’s pants, and was greeted with a tiny surprise.
“Hm, I guess you have nothing to worry about.” Justyne said, lifting the child and entering the bathtub.
“And why’s that? Did you curse her to be flat chested when she grows up?!” Nara asked, getting in right after.
“I don’t do curses! And the kid was meant to be flat anyway!”
“Huh?”
“She’s a he. We were mistaken.”
“Is that right? Well, it’s hard to tell anyways, he’s adorbs.” Nara pinched his cheeks, “what’s your name, lil guy?”
No response
“Come onnn. My name’s Nara, and the bimbo is Justyne-”
“Hey!!”
“What’s yours?”
Still, no response.
“You think he’s shy?”
“Doubt it, he’s been very receptive of us, and even climbed on that woman. I think he just doesn’t understand us. Beastfolk speak a different language after all.”
“You speak Beastfolk?”
“It’s difficult, but I know some words.” Justyne placed her hand on his shoulders, “Svaka Uril Thulre? (What’s your name?)
“...R…Ru…”
“Ruuuu…Rouven?
“Ursa!”
Both had completely different interpretations on what the boy was about to say.
“How do you get Ursa? He was saying ‘ru-’” Justyne questioned.
“He reminds me of a lil’ bear cub! So I think his name should be Ursa!”
“Hmm, Ursa is cute, but he should have something normal as well. His name will be Rouven.”
“Are you even sure that’s what he was gonna say?”
“Does it matter, look at his little tail wag!”
Involuntarily, though not unwelcomed, Rouven’s tail brushed against Justyne.
“Okayy, what about a last name?”
“For now, he can use mine. Rouven Ursa Astorr.”
“Makes you wonder where his real parents are. They must be worried sick…if they’re still alive.”
“We’ll have to visit Beastlandia one day, he belongs with his people. And most of the world still shun Beastfolk since the incident. Until then, we’ll keep him in our care.”
Rouven turned his head and looked up at the smiling Justyne, nearly getting lost in her eyes. It was something about that golden color that reminded him of something, like it was a whole other world
R…Ru... Rouven was hung up on those words, a foggy image clouded his mind of once familiar figures, but he soon fell asleep, marking the first night of many.