Va’il heard a roar in the distance, and then laughed. He ran with normal shoes on, and every so often he would climb a low tree that connected to another, and jump as far as he could. He repeated his pattern of skating, running, and climbing for two hours as he continuously changed directions.
Va’il put on the slipskates one last time, and used them to travel west while leaning to the north every so often. He was careful in all his running and deceptions to keep track of Ruby’s scent, no matter where he ended up or ran to. Night fell, and Va’il’s search ended.
“Hey Ruby,” Va’il said into the darkness. The light from a candle-torch appeared.
“Va’il!” Ruby said. She relaxed once she realized the sounds she had heard were just Va’il finding her in the night. She ran up and hugged him. “You’re okay. You’re okay.”
“Sure am,” Va’il said.
“But how did you find me? I thought we’d eventually meet up somewhere, but already?”
“I wouldn’t lose track of you that easily. My nose has known you for a long time, after all.”
“A long time. I was worried,” Ruby said, her bright smile visible in the low light.
“You sure don’t seem like it,” Va’il said.
“Little jerk.”
“Your knight, right? How could he fail?”
Ruby didn’t respond, and Va’il laughed, thinking of his own ridiculousness. In the dark, he couldn’t tell that Ruby’s face was flush and her throat was tight. She sat down by the tree again, not saying another word to Va’il.
“We’re going to go quickly in the morning,” Va’il said, and then sat on the other side of the tree. Ruby made a sound of approval, and then they slept in silence.
#
Morning hunger was satisfied with a grouse Va’il hunted and some nuts. From then on they’d ration their water carefully, and hunted instead of dipping into their provisions when possible. They headed northwest through forests, and avoided touching the roads for the first couple days.
Va’il and Ruby spent the first day on horseback, together on the one Ruby had escaped with. The second day they let it go free, and carried their provisions themselves. They spent much of the day making it difficult to track them, hampering their overall speed. They would change from slipskates to normal walking, and would often run their tracks directly into trees with low branches.
They didn’t bother climbing trees, and stuck to simple methods to cover their tracks. The third day, however, they abandoned any effort at hiding their trail. From then on they used the slipskates with few exceptions.
Their pace increased, giving them hope as time dragged on. They did discuss their progress briefly each night before sleeping, though they never said too much. During the days they were mostly quiet, to conserve energy and moisture, even though they were incredibly bored most of the time. Eventually they found a main road and travelled it as well, making their progress quicker and allowing them to visit a couple small villages to refill on water. After two weeks since their run from the Laloo children, they discovered a welcome sight.
“I can see the city in the distance,” Va’il said.
“Suppose it’s a bearan city, or bovine?” Ruby asked.
“If we’ve gone far enough, probably a hare city. I bet we are,” Va’il said. He was covered in dirt, and his silver hair didn’t shine like it should.
“Just in time, then. Not another day of travel! One more and I’d collapse!” Ruby said.
“You did well coming this far,” Va’il said, nodding.
“You were just as sore the first couple days,” Ruby said. The teens laughed and replaced their skates with normal shoes.
“A bath,” Ruby said.
“Let’s just hurry,” Va’il said. Eventually, they reached the city gates.
“A human, eh? Two? No, a lupus, I wouldn’t forget the smell of one. And that tail and ears of course. Can’t forget the fangs either,” the captain of the guard, a hare, said as he approached the two teens. He had seen them coming a while ago, and had instructed his guards to wait.
“That’s right, sir,” Ruby said. She smiled and bowed.
“Oh, oh? A polite one, yes. But still a human. And this lupus here is what? Can’t trust a lupus. Or a human. Human’s probably worse. Unless you’re from Grip. Have to obey, of course. Excuse me if I’m impudent. Talk a bit fast. Hare, after all, ha, ha,” the captain said, his words spoken so quickly they seemed to all be one.
“Oh, somewhat. Actually, this is my brother,” Ruby said. Va’il opened his mouth in shock, but didn’t express anything.
“Brother? Oh, do explain!” the captain said.
“Yes, well, we’re just traveling. Not from Grip either, so you don’t have to obey me. We’re half-siblings, actually. We have the same poor, dear mother. I’m sure I don’t have to explain any more than that. You understand, sir?” Ruby asked.
“Against my policy to pry too much! All right miss, thank you for your patronage. You will be visiting our city for good purposes, right?” the captain asked. He smiled and bowed.
“Of course! Just to buy a few things here and there, and we’ll be on our way! Not a bit of trouble from us at all. Is that all right?” Ruby asked.
“Of course. Open the gates, let these fine strangers through!” the captain said. Ruby and Va’il entered the city, laughing to themselves.
“I see why we didn’t have to worry about the stops when Derlik brought us through here. Even the guards are friendly!” Ruby said.
“But still, they are also under Grip’s hand,” Va’il said.
“True. But let’s enjoy the city for a bit and get on our way tomorrow. And tonight, I get to bathe! As should you!”
The city was one full of the shorter hares. They all ran around from place to place, and appeared quite busy. The buildings were all smaller than the ones Va’il was used to, but the atmosphere was a welcome one. Everyone was eager and friendly to do business with the teens. Around town, they even spotted a few bearans, swine, bovine, and even a couple humans doing business. Va’il was sure there were more of other species around, but he didn’t bother seeking them out.
That night they had restocked water and food with the money that Ruby seemed to have in infinite supply, and rested at a luxurious inn, though physically smaller than what they were used to. They slept in comfort, not noticing the large number of horses that brought several people through the city and out its various gates that night.
They left the city early the next morning, fully stocked and cleaner than before.
“That was a fun place,” Va’il said while looking back at the city behind them.
“Yeah. But at least we didn’t stick around,” Ruby said.
“No sitting around, waiting. On we go,” Va’il said. He looked at the road leading north, its sides occupied with grassy hills and distant plains.
More days passed as they made quick progress. Every couple days they’d come across a small shack, farm, village, or small town. They served travelers going from city to city, and refreshed the teens’ provisions when needed, and confirmed the immediate direction the teens needed to head in.
Their progress was varied, some days covered much distance, others less. They did notice that they were far slower by themselves compared to the speed Derlik had whisked them across the continent with. They came across another couple hare cities in the next week, but soon neared the border of Sounderthound.
