Prone To Wander (rough draft)

Chapter Twenty Eight

As the days passed things seemed to settle again, but this time everyone at least tried to stay on the alert. Malaki was becoming more and more capable, and less of a pup, despite his right hind leg refusing to heal. He'd taken an honest account of what he could still do, and quickly determind he would become as good of an archer as his uncle. After he'd made that decision, much of his time was dedicated to craffting arrows and practicing his shooting. He was resolved, more than anything else, to never be useless, or a burden to the others.

The newest store house was finished, and a good thing it was, as winter was beginning. There were no leaves on the trees, they had all turned brown, and fallen to the ground. Sadly, it hadn't been cold enough for snow, and instead was turning into a rainy season. The bushes that grew around the clearing seemed to be some kind of evergreen, which everyone agreed was a good thing. They would stay full through the winter, and remain as a kind of fence between the clearing and the forest. This row of evergreen bushes became known simply as “the line”. It was Quinn who had accidentally dubbed it, when he made a jest about “crossing the line” and finding trouble.

Arkadi patroled “the line” at least twice a day. The others were now more relaxed when the dog was patroling, than they were when he was elsewhere. He was a protector to be appreciated, not a threat to be feared. The change was a bit difficult for Arkadi himself to adjust to. He was accustomed to being avoided by most of the creatures, but now was approached by everyone. The young ones almost always invited him to play, though he very rarely accepted. Vincent seemed to regard the dog as some sort of leader, a “captain of the guard” perhaps. The ermine was at his beck and call, he was loyal, respectful and obedient to fault. But it was Malaki that the dog looked forward to seeing most. The others were accustomed to, and grateful for, his friendship and protection. Malaki however, quite simply, adored the dog for who he was. He had seen the gentle soul inside the “monster” long before the others, and trusted him completely.

It was on a peaceful day, when Malaki was tending to his bowstring (which had started fraying), that another change occured. The young squirrel was so absorbed in his work, that he didn't notice something was approaching him, until one fore paw was seized and he was lifted off the ground. His heart fell to his toes, but only until he noticed who the “attacker” was.

“Angus! What on earth are you doing here?” he scolded, and was quickly set back down.

“Mommy brought me,” the puppy replied.

Malaki glanced around, and saw Niki by the firepit, talking with the others. “I'll bet you're here to start your hunting lessons. We should go find Vincent.”

“But we found Vincent,” Angus said, “And he told me to find you. He said you wanted to help.”

“Yes, I did offer... quite some time ago.” The squirrel looked at his bad leg. He was no longer the fastest creature in the clearing, and was bound to be caught by his friend, but that didn't really matter. He set his bow in a near by store house. “Let's go then. It'll be fun, you're going to chase me all around the clearing.”

As they joined the group, Vincent (who's coat had turned completely white) smiled and said, “Since he's your best friend, I thought you'd like to be the one to train with Angus.”

“I don't know that I'll be much of a challenge for him, but I did say I'd help, so...”

“It's lessone one,” Vincent interjected with a laugh, “He doesn't need a challenge, he just needs someone who doesn't mind getting slobbered on.”

Malaki grimmaced, but only said, “Oh, alright.” He then looked to Niki, and asked, in a cheerier voice, “Are you bringing the other puppies?”

“Yes, one at a time for now, but they'll all come together eventually.”

The “lesson” was really more about manners than hunting. Angus had never been in the clearing and was curious about everything. He had to learn not to climb on, or chew on, the squirrels little houses, and not to stick his nose in the firepit. He also met Gabriel and Yakira for the first time, and had to learn that most squirrels did not want to be mouthed by a large, teething puppy. He was used to Malaki and Ruben, who never seemed to mind anything, so long as the puppies didn't hurt them. At least that was one thing Angus (and his littermates) already knew... how to be gentle. He'd known the squirrels since birth, and was very familiar with the fact that he couldn't be rough with them.

They did spend part of the lesson time playing. And they really did run all over the clearing, and Malaki really did get slobbered on. Not that he minded. In fact, the squirrel was disappointed when Niki announced that Angus' lesson was over. She did bring another puppy after him, one of his sisters, Cassandra. In the clearing however, everyone took to calling her Cass or Cassy for short. She had more of golden color than her brother, and golden behavior as well. She was perfectly polite when meeting the squirrels she didn't yet know, and never once tried to put her teeth on anything... except of course Malaki, but that was part of the lesson.

It wasn't long after Niki had taken Cass home, that the sky grew dark, not with the approach of night, but storms. Malaki retrieved his bow, and went into the empty house to finish mending it. He was the only one who said he understood why Vincent didn't use his house. The ermine had become close to the raccoon kits, and even to Quinn, who had “threatened” multiple times to start calling him a brother. The little house that had been built for him was nice, but lonely. It was a good place to get away and be on your own for a few minutes... but Vincent didn't like to be alone. He enjoyed the company of Quinn and the kits, and they were happy to have him. Malaki liked the empty house however, when he needed a moment to think, or wanted to work on something quietly. And he was enjoying it that day.

Suddenly, the door to the little house flew open, and Ruben stepped inside. He shut the door against the wind, shook the rain from his fur, and walked over to Malaki.

“So, this is where you went. Is something the matter with your bow?”

“Not really, the string is just frayed.”

“Oh, yes I see that. Do you need another? I might have an extra.”

“It's alright, I already made a new one, just like you showed me.” Malaki proudly produced the string. The fine fibers were skillfully woven, so tight was the weave that it looked round like a tiny snake.

His uncle looked it over carefully, smiled, and handed it back, “Very good. I'm sure it'll work well.” He sat next to him, and asked, with some hesitation, “So, how's your leg?”

“The same.”

“I'm sorry it isn't getting better, we all hoped it would.”

“Don't be sorry,” Malaki replied, looking his uncle in the eyes, “I'm not. I don't mind having to learn to do things differently... I'm just glad I'm alive to do the learning.”

“That's a very good attitude,” Ruben said, smiling again.

Malaki looked around the room, as if expecting someone else to be there. The he set his unstrung bow aside, and turned to his uncle. “Uncle Ruben there's something I've been wanting to ask you... it might sound strange, or silly, but I'm being serious.” Ruben gave him a nod, and waited for the question. “Are you afraid of uncle Quinn?”

“No, of course not... Why do you ask? I know you're not afraid of him.”

“When I first met him, I was afraid. Then he became like family, and he wasn't scary at all,” the young squirrel paused, and sighed. “Then, that night when the ermines attacked, I saw what he did to one. I can't forget it. I saw what Arkadi did too. It's not that I'm scared of them, but something's different now. Do you know what it is that changed?”

“You changed,” Ruben said quietly. “All you could see before was friends, you saw their kindness, and their compassion, but that's only part of who and what they are. You've seen another part of them now, you've seen a little of the damage they can actually do. It makes their kindness seem deeper. It would make them both perfectly terrifying, if you didn't know them as friends.”

“Does that mean you were terrified of them, when you first met them?”

“Of course... You do remember that Quinn tried to eat me, and Arkadi wanted to feed me to Niki, right? But they've proven to be incredible friends, and I couldn't be more honored to call them that.”

“I don't suppose they're “honored” to know us,” Malaki said with a chuckle.

But his uncle didn't seem to think it funny, and told him, “You'll never know unless you ask them.”

When the rain was over, all of the creatures went to dig the layer of wet earth out of the firepit, and rekindle it. Once the job was finished, and everyone began moving on to other tasks, Malaki chased after Quinn, and asked if he had time to talk.

“For a minute,” he said, “But I do need to get down to the stream, while the fishing's good.”

“I was talking to uncle Ruben, and we both agreed that... well, he said something like, “it's an honor to call you a friend” and that's how I feel, too. But I was wondering, and he said I should ask you... do you feel “honored” to be friends? I mean, it's not like we're much of anything.”

“Well, first off,” Quinn said, looking very stern for a moment, “Don't insult my family like that. What do you mean “not much of anything”? You, and your uncle, every squirrel here has a lot more courage and heart than any predator I've ever known. Am I honored?” The raccoon wrapped a paw around the squirrel, and lifted him so they were nearly nose to nose. “I'm honored that you are willing to quite litterally, trust me with your life. So, the answer is yes.”