Prone To Wander (rough draft)

Chapter Twenty Four

Vincent wanted nothing less than to be left alone. For four days he was constantly shadowing Quinn, Ruben or even Jacob. His biggest fear in this new life, was that Arkadi would find him alone and eat him. The tree house had been fitted with a lock of sorts, where the ermine could be “kept” if the need arose. It hadn't been used however. On the rare occasion that he was alone in the tree house, Vincent was content to rest and wait for the raccoons to return.

It was on his fourth day in the little community, that Ruben said it was time to visit Niki and the puppies. This conversation was overheard by Malaki, who begged to go along.

When they arrived at the den, Malaki raced ahead, he paused at the entrance, said “good morning” and was invited in. When Vincent entered, he was a bit unnerved to see that it was not Niki, but her mate, who was waiting for them. Thankfully, the dog took no interest in the weasel. He was encouraged to interact with the puppies, so they would know his scent. He followed the squirrels examples, and soon was thoroughly enjoying himself, patting the little noses, and stroking the little ears.

After doting on all the little ones, Malaki ran up to Arkadi. The huge dog nuzzled and licked and spoke softly to the squirrel, as if the tiny creature was one of his own young.

Vincent couldn't help but notice, “Awfully fond of the pup, isn't he?” he said to Ruben.

“Yes, he certainly seems to be,” Ruben agreed.

“And I was certainly out of my head, when I tried to take Malaki away from him.”

“Nonesense, you were being heroic... or trying to be, anyway.”

When Niki returned to the den, she entered slowly. She stretched and layed down beside her little ones, gave a yawn, and rested her head. Malaki made his way over to her, and perched on the great black muzzle to say hello.

Vincent cautiously approached when the young squirrel was done. “Hello ma'am. Hope you're alright today.”

Niki smiled, “I'm fine, just tired,” she said, and yawned again.

“Is that our cue to leave?” the ermine asked.

“More or less,” Ruben answered. “Come on Malaki, let's head home and let Niki rest.”

“Would you like me to walk back with you?” Arkadi offered, “I'll be going hunting anyway.”

Ruben said “yes”. He appreciated the dog's protection. What he didn't say outloud, was that he also thought it would be good for Vincent to be around him as much as possible. The more accustomed they were to each other, the more likely Arkadi was to let Vincent go, should he ever find the ermine alone.

When they returned to the clearing, Cavan and Kelly came rushing up to greet them. They each said a very polite (and slightly nervous) “hello, sir” to Arkadi, and asked if Vincent was ready for their hunting lesson.

“Well, that's what I'm here for, isn't it?” he replied. Cavan immediately reached a paw towards him, but the weasel pushed it away, “Now hold on, that's backwards, you have to go hunting first!” And he dashed off, with the two raccoon kits chasing after him.

“Strange little beast,” Arkadi grumbled, “To agree to being hunted for the rest of his life.”

“I really don't think that's how Vincent sees it,” Ruben said. “I think he's having as much fun as the kits, it's all a game, even to him.”

“And do you like playing games, Ruben?”

Ruben only smiled, but Malaki climbed onto one of the dogs huge paws, saying, “I like playing games, and I'm very fast. Cavan and Kelly can't catch me, I bet you couldn't either.”

Arkadi stared at the little squirrel in amazement, “You want me to try to catch you?”

“That's how the game goes, we just need to pick a place to call “home” and if I get there before you can catch me, I win.”

“I think I'd better save my energy for the real hunting... but maybe we'll play another time.” Arkadi gave Malaki a gentle nudge, and the squirrel got down from his paw, said good-bye, and went to join in on the kit's hunting lesson.

“You realize he's going keep asking you play now, don't you?” Ruben asked the dog.

“I suppose he is. I might have to humor him one day.”

Much later in the day, when the sky had just begun to tease the world with the first hints of a red sunset, the little community of creatures gathered at the firepit. There were fish roasting, as there often were, but that night there was also an apple. Arkadi had brought it to the clearing after hunting. He had wandered a bit further than usual, and stumbled across several apple trees, growing close together on the edge of a meadow. When he found that some of the fruit had started falling, he decided to bring one back to the others. The kind act surprised some of the creatues, but all were thankful.

After everyone had eaten, while the kits and pups were chasing each other all around the clearing, Vincent asked if it was safe for him to go back to the tree house on his own.

“I don't see why it wouldn't be,” Quinn told him, “The dogs won't be hunting again tonight, and even if someone turned up, we're fairly close by.”

The ermine took his time on the walk, the kits ran past him, and invited him into the game. He told them, not unkindly, that he was done with being chased for the day. But when he was just coming to the brush at the edge of the clearing, Vincent was completely shocked to have Gabriel come running from the forest side, and jump into his paws. The little squirrel was shaken, and looking over his shoulder into the darkness.

“Well, what's the matter little one?” Vincent asked. “I thought you didn't like me.”

He looked into the brush, and saw two eyes glaring at him. They were familiar eyes. The ermine stiffened, and snarled at the approaching creature.

“I thought you were dead,” it grumbled, as it moved forward.

“I almost was a few times. What are you doing here?”

“Hunting... speaking of which,” he gestured to the squirrel pup.

Gabriel clung to his unlikely protector, and Vincent growled as the enemy came nearer. The other ermine was taller, his fur still mostly brown, and he had a belt with a strap over each shoulder, and a knife fashioned from a large tooth hung at his hip.

“Are you giving me what's mine, or should I take it from you?”

Vincent knew he was outmatched. So, keeping his eyes on his foe, he set Gabriel on the ground, “Go tell your uncle we have company,” he instructed, and the young squirrel made a dash for the firepit.

“You really think a squirrel is going to come help you? Which one are you expecting, thorn to the throat or arrow through the eye?”

“Does it matter?”

“No, it doesn't. You know, there are still quite a few of us. We can't come this close to the clearing often though, not with that monster wandering the forest. The same monster your new companions set loose on us... you detestable traitor!”

“I'm honored to be concidered a traitor to a villain such as yourself, Captain.”

“Virtue looks painful on you, Vincent,” the enemy sneered, pointing to the long scars that ran down the other's face, neck and shoulder. “Are you sure these new friends are worth so much trouble? Or are they even friends at all? Maybe I have it wrong, maybe you're some kind of captive.”

Vincent couldn't help but chuckle, “Well, they do tell me I technically belong to Quinn.”

“Which one is he?”

Before Vincent could answer, one of Quinn's paws reached for the enemy, but the beast dodged it, and ducked into the brush. The raccoon tried to find him, but he seemed to have vanished into thin air.

“That looked like the same one that was barking orders, when we first got out here,” Quinn said, as he walked back into the clearing. “Come on, we better tell the others what's happened.”

When Quinn and Vincent returned to the firepit, everyone turned to them. There was a flurry of questions, and no chance to answer any of them. Then, through the chaos, Kalah rushed up and clasped one of the ermine's paws. She said a heartfelt “thank you” but could find no other words.

Jacob came up behind his mate, and offered a paw to Vincent, who shook it gladly. “I never thought I'd be so glad you were here,” he said.

“That's very kind of you, but let's not celebrate just yet.”

“Why not?” Ruben asked, “Who was he?”

“An escape artist, apparently,” Quinn grumbled.

“Captain Rembrant,” Vincent answered, “One of the leaders of the rabble that was here before you. And from what he said, he's not alone.”

“Why don't the cowards come and fight?” Everyone turned and looked, it was Malaki who'd spoken. “Even if there's still a hundred of the weasels, we could lead the enemy to the den... Arkadi would deal with them.”

“They won't be that easy to get rid of. The Captain is no fool, he won't rush in here with everything they've got... especially not now that he knows he has the raccoon to contend with. No, he'll be watching for ways to take just one or two creatures at a time. The good news is, I don't think he knows that everyone here is friendly with a family of dogs. In fact, he seemed to think Niki was the only dog in the forest.”

“Then, what do you think we should do, Vincent?”

“For now, just be cautious. Don't go anywhere alone if you can help it, and stay inside the dogs territory. Someone will have to tell Niki and Arkadi about this.”