Mating of the Deer and Fox (Part 2: Fox)

#Wss366 #MastoPrompt

Soon, he had lit a fire and started roasting a hare over it. Wrapped in wet leaves and buried under the coals, the mushrooms cooked with wild onions. When they were done, they ate the fare seasoned with salt from a #stash in his pack. Besides a simple compliment and equally simple acknowledgment, they ate in silence—he out of habit, and she out of deference.

Food finished, the Shaw broke the silence. “I’ll show you the way to your village tomorrow. You may keep my cloak tonight; it will be cold.”

“Omnit thanks you. But aren’t you afraid my kin will find and kill you?”

“Aren’t you afraid of being alone in the #wilderness with an oathless Shaw? And to answer your question, no. I will have faded away long before they arrive. Your people make a rutting bear sound quiet.”

“Oh,” she said, silent for a moment. “I’m not afraid of being alone with you anymore. You’re the gentlest man I’ve ever met.”

“Your husband? Father? Brothers?”

“Brutes. They brought us here to settle. I’ve seen what they do to the Shaws they capture. They say it’s their just desserts. As for me, I must do as I am told.”

The man pulled a sour face but didn’t comment.

“It will be cold tonight, and you’ve given me your cloak. I could share it with you.” The woman’s voice was soft again, and her eyes were cast down.

“Your husband?” he asked.

“Arranged.” Her voice was barely audible. “A rutting bear.” Then, looking up, she bit her lip and added in a rush, “For once I’d like to know what it’s like to be with someone gentle.”

When the night fell silent and the woman slept, the Shaw looked up at the stars, tracing Sister Canin among them. He wondered whether his mother’s words were true. Did Canin’s blood run through his veins, however diluted it had become over the ages?

He touched the fox’s tail braided in his hair and thought, “If not literally, then figuratively.”

Rolling over, he traced the flank of the “Deer” woman next to him. He thought sadly, “The deer and fox were not meant to mate. I hope she will be okay. And if the seed takes root, I wish the same for it.”

Then he too drifted off.

They ate in silence the next morning, he from habit, and she lost in memory. When they reached the trail to her village, he bid her stay a moment.

He took a shawl from his pack and said, “It was my mother’s. It’s all I have to give you.”

“But…” she began, but he silenced her with a finger.

“The nameless do not need such things. Keep it and remember that there are gentle things in the world. She was gentle, and so are you.” Before she could protest further, he turned and disappeared.

Note 1: #FanFiction for a yet-to-be-published book, “Soul Fire” by Jesse Sprague.

Note 2: #Kickstarter “Soul Fire” by Jesse Sprague.

#TootFic #MicroFiction #Serial #Fantasy #NMFic #NMV366