For hours the family of volkin traveled through the desert of their homeland. The sunar was still high, casting down tremendous heat upon them as the group slumped through the dessert.
“I’m tired,” commented Kanida. She was the last within the group to follow, having been too hot and exhausted to keep up with the others. Jaron ailed in his trek and Rubis and Sol followed, glancing back at Kanida who was now firmly planted in the sand.
“This is no time for games, Kanida,” their uncle insisted as he walked over to Kanida and helped her stand to her feet. “We must keep moving. We’re almost there.” He’d gesture with a nod of his head ahead of them. The trio of youngkin all looked in unison to where he pointed. There in the horizon was a large kingdom. The youngkin weren’t familiar with the location of where they were going, but they were glad to see the castle nearby, finally being able to rest. “Just a bit more,” uncle Jaron promised. Gradually, the group made it to the sandy walls of the kingdom. When they neared the entrance they were met by two female pursiian guards who held their spears crossed with one another to block the passage through the gates.
“Halt,” one of them ordered. She spoke in a strong tone that stopped even Jaron dead in his tracks. “You are not permissible to enter through these gates, outsider. State your business or be on your way.”
“Please. We’ve come a long way to reach here. I have three young with me. We’ve just encountered The Elkai Dominion who just–” Jaron’s plea was cut short by the other female guard holding out her hand to him.
“We do not need to deal with anyone who has personally been in contact with the Elkai Dominion, especially outsiders. Move along.”
“But you don’t understand! We’re exhausted out here! If you could just hear me o–” Again Jaron’s words were cut short, this time by the point of the spear now aimed at him. Its wielder glared at him.
“We said, move along…!”
The three youngkin looked up to their uncle, confused and frightened by what they saw. Was something more going to happen?
“I don’t want to die out here!” exclaimed Kanida who then began to wail. She cried and she cried until she was consoled by her uncle who held her against him and stroked her back. “It’s ok, Kanida. You’re not going to die, I promise… I have you, all of you…” He then returned his attention to the two guards at the gate. “Please,” he began, falling to his knees and bowing his head low in the sand. “We only seek passage through your gates and into Swamp Ikuda. We seek refuge there.”
One of the female guards turned up her head and pointed her lance at Jaron. “You’re fugitives then. That could cause trouble for us. You may not enter.”
“Please, I have children with me….”
“Then you should take them someplace safer…”
“Sister,” the other guard butted in, glancing at the other and garnering her attention. “We should think about the youngkin. It looks like they’ve come a long way across the hot desert to get here. We should at least consider that.”
The one who was against letting the family of volkin in turned her head with conflict then clicked her teeth and stamped her lance in the sand. “Fine then, you may enter, but you will be watched closely, volkin. Any trouble out of you and you will be thrown in the dungeons till we figure out what to do with you.”
Jaron looked relieved and nodded, “You have my word.”
The volkin were let through the gates and into the kingdom of the pursiians. As they walked through the gates they were led through a narrow hall made of stoney sand. Passing through the hall they were greeted by the sight of a town; tall buildings and houses made of clay and topped with red tinted cloth roofing and endless arching doorways towered over the group as they entered.The town was boisterous with bustling kindles. There were merchants and peddlers everywhere with potential customers looking over their wares. Acrobatic performers put on a show for others on the street, some even sang and played instruments to accompany the dancers; their efforts met with watching eyes and cheering. The kindle there all wore either loose fitting robes or tattered close that brisked in the warm wind. They were mostly of alikhat origin, but there were other beastkin amongst the moving crowd such as crocodins and even jakun. All seemed to never pay the passing volkin any mind as they went about their business.
“Welcome to the city of Modocc,” one of the female gate guards said with pride in her voice. “I would implore that you enjoy your stay while visiting, but you’re only passing through.”
“What happens now?” Asked Jaron, keeping the kids close to him as they walked through the city. The three youngkin were too busy taking in the sights and sounds, watching in awe as the acrobats twirled and danced, achieving such dexterous movements and agile angles that the young had never seen before let alone alikhats in general. They’ve only heard about them through word of mouth, never having been involved in the turf war between their kind and the cat-folk. To them they were a rare commodity and a wonder to behold. The way they slink and wave through the air as they perform was mesmerising to the young and they found themselves forgetting the danger they were in.
“You will be personally escorted through the city and through the east gate. From there you will be transported by boat to the Isles of Ikuda. We have a direct route from here to there, so you should arrive there with no issues.”
“We thank you,” Jaron bowed his head.”
“You don’t need to thank me. I’m doing my duties.”
Before the group would pass by the performers, one of them caught Rubis’s eye. She was a young alikhat girl with dark fur and purple gems for eyes. She looked to be around the same age as and around the same height as his sister, small. She danced and spun with her arms in the air. Like her older siblings, she wore silks along her arms and a purple tabard attire close around her bandaged body. Even at only the age of eight, she was an astonishing dancer. Her movements were fluent, with her long black tail twirling and swirling along with her body as she moved. She wore large gold bangles clipped to her alikhat ears, their bouncing and swaying attenuated her dazzling display. She looked directly at Rubis the last minute he passed by, which prompted the young boy to stop and look in the first place. He was enrapt. Just before the little girl could bounce her way over, Rubis was tugged along by his uncle, breaking the shared connection between the youngkin.
“Hey, you! You didn’t pay for that!”
An outburst halted some of the crowd as a merchant can be seen reaching over his stall of jeweled goods to grab at another alikhat who seemed to be holding one of the jeweled items in his hands. The thief in question leapt back from the grabbing hands and made a run for it, quickly putting distance between the baffled merchant and himself. Moving through the crowd like water, the thief seemed to have a clear chance of getting away, however, right on his tail was the feral form of one of the gate guards. The crowd of people quickly gave way as She gave chase. She came in from the east side, skidding into view before being seen galloping for the thief. Her golden, black spotted fur shone brightly in the sun, depicting her like that of a speeding zeta bolt, sailing through the air with speed and power. In a matter of seconds she caught up to the speedster and pounced on him. The thief never stood a chance as he was caught in the sprang, the golden pursiian having pinned him down. There was a struggle as the beast rangled the thief in her grasping fanged jaws. She snarled and hissed as she tugged and pulled at the thief’s arm. The thief cried out in pain and terror as he was being ripped to shreds by the raking claws of the guard. She tore into him with ease, given her size and strength, her jaws made quick work on severely wounding the thief until he was a shredded, bloody mess. Before the whole ordeal was over, the pursiian guard would leave the thief screaming in agony as she’d sever his arm, leaving it completely torn and soaked in blood. He writhed in her hold and beat on her back before succumbing to the pain of her steely hold of him. He cried out to the Gods to be let free to no avail for the Gods would not hear his cry. The sounds of gutteral bone cracking and crunching emitted from the mouth of the guard as she worked on mauled the thief, ultimately mutilating him from the arm and shoulder. The thief collapsed from the blood lost, falling limp on the hard sandy terrain where he was left lying lifeless. A few agonizing moments, the female feral would be seen dragging away the lifeless body that was once the foolish thief, never to be seen again.
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“The penalty for stealing here is death,” the escorting guard would simply say to Jaron, catching his bewildered expression. “Let’s move along. You have a ship to catch.”
Without another word, the grim looking volkin family followed the guard through the crowd which seemed to have continued on without falter. This was routine for them. Without much more delay, Jaron and the siblings were taken to the east gate where they were handed over by two more guards standing watch. They salute each other, the east gate guards placing fists to their heart and bowing in command as they were given their orders. The short departure was brief, with one of the southern gate guards patting Jaron on the back and granting him a genuine smile.
“Good luck out there.”
Curtly, the volkin family followed the guards to their destination, passing through another narrow hall. The kids peered up at the high reaching walls, its face blank save for the deep claw marks dragged into the stone in short sessions of one another. As they neared, they came to a river. By the river was a ship made of wood alongside two smaller boats; the red sails were bellowing in the dusty wind, ready to set off. They were led down the dock and boarded one of the boats, leaving the two gate guards by the bay. They watched as the family of volkin exchanged knowing looks at each other with the pursiian guards grimacing in pity.
Once the captain and his crew were all on board, they set sail for the Isles with Jaron and the siblings situated below deck.
“How long do you think it will take before we get there?” Rubis asked quietly. He was sitting next to his uncle, the gentle swaying of the boat rocking their body and lightly jostling it. Jaron seemed to have been in a daze and briefly broken out of it when he heard the voice of his nephew. He looked to the boy then sighed, glancing up at the open sky. The danar had just been turning noon with the sunar setting in the horizon, tinting the sky in an orange and reddish hue.
“I don’t know, Rubis. Could take days. We’re not that far from where we are now. We’ll just have to be patient.”
“Are we going to be found by the Elkai Dominion?” Kanida asked from her seat across from them. Though she swung her legs from the wooden bench, her eyes held worry. Jaron sighed again and shook his head before he would pull his lips back and breathed through his nose. “No, I don’t think so, Kanida. We’re safe for now.”
“How do you know that?” Questioned Sol. He was sitting with his knees up and bare feet planted on the bench. He yellow eyes looked into his uncle with fear. Jaron saw this and reached out to palm his nephew’s knee.
“We’ll be fine,” Uncle Jaron said with assuring eyes. He may have been certain of his words, but in the back of his mind, Jaron was not sure of their chances of making it to the Isles of Ikuda alive. For all he knew, the Elkai Dominion could have thought ahead and surmised that they would seek aid from the nearby kingdom that was Modocc. They could be chasing them as they speak. Jaron saw his hands trembling. He poised them between his legs, fingers intertwined in prayer. He bowed his head and closed his eyes and began to mutter. The chilkin watched silently, sensing his need for faith. No one knew that the Gods influenced everything in life better than the volkin for they were living proof of the odds being stacked against them just for them to come out victorious and alive. If they were going to make it out of this, they would have to fully commit and rely on the aid of the Devine, so the young too began to pray with their uncle. In contempt of silence, the family prayed. When Jaron lifted his head so did they and shared a moment of peace with each other, if only for a moment.
A few hours later, the chilkin were beginning to fall asleep. Even if they had been traumatized, they were exhausted and sleep came to them quickly. Jaron watched the slumbering young, a small smile on his face as he took the small moment to embrace another glimpse at peace. Though he had lost his sister and clan, seeing the youth in this time frame seemed to halt just for him to relish in the serene scene. They did not completely fail. The Red RaVage clan and Valentis family bloodline still lived on for the youths still lived. He did not completely lose everything to the damned elkai. Not this time.
“I promise you, sister. I will avenge us. You’ve given me a second chance at life with you. I will not let it go to waste. I’ll save our family. I promise you.” The monologue was muttered in the weariness of Jaron as his eyes suddenly became heavier and his body ached. He groaned and flexed his neck, forcing himself awake. He couldn’t sleep at a moment's notice, cautious that something may happen during their sail to the island, hoping that his fear would stay at bay. But the ordeal taxed him like none other; all of the weight of his woes came crashing down on him in that vulnerable moment. His throat blotted up and the sting in his eyes and nose came in a rage. He exhaled once and covered his mouth with the back of his wrist, stifling his trauma so that it would not wake his young. However, all were asleep save for one, Rubis. He had not fallen asleep like his brother and sister, but instead feign slumber. He had been awake the entire time, watching his grief stricken uncle struggle with his inner demons and cursing himself to the Gods. He heard the promise made to his mother and the cracking of a min who lost everything. At his age, the boy understood what tragedy looked like when a min is broken down to tears. He had never seen another male cry before, not even his da, but to see Jaron in this state awoken something within Rubis and he would silently creed a promise of his own to his uncle and siblings. That he would one day become strong and defend his family from anymore harm, especially those of the elkai whom he hated with great ferocity that it forced out a hiccup from the boy, alerting his uncle who lifted his head from his sorrows to see that Rubis had still been awake. He had not been angry nor ashamed of his nephew and only looked at him. Both his and nephew wordlessly telegraphed their devotion with just their eyes before Rubis closed his eyes, laying still along the bench where he was curled at, feet toward his uncle. His uncle said nothing and bowed his head again and resumed his praying sitting.
