FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Myra sat in the corner of the slave hut, chewing slowly on the small chunk of stale bread she'd received. Though the Falskin was used to less-refined foods, after travelling so long on the roads, the bread still came as a shock.

Bland and tasteless, the small chunk of grain was occasionally _mouldy_as well, making it a trule repulsive thing to consider eating as food.

But, considering that this bread was all they were given, Myra needed to make due. And, sitting around her and her brother, the pack of wolves was doing the same. Aida and Myra, curiously enough, were actually becoming fast friends, both of them finding similar interests and features.

They'd both had a brief crush on Kiri, and they'd both marvelled on the colour of his eyes. They both despised rain, and both of them had a brother, who often got on their nerves. In Aida's case, it was a wolf named Rid'k.

And one thing that the Falskin siblings had in common with all the wolves, was that they all hated Chach.

The massive brute of a bear, perpetually sour as he was, would've been difficult to get along with at the best of times. With his obsessive narcissism, speciesism, and general bullying, he was impossible.

That too would've been fine, if there was any way to avoid him. But, sadly, there wasn't. Chach, though a mean bully, was an effective miner, which meant he was usually at the forefront of the mines, where most of the diggers were concentrated, including Myra, Aryn, and Aida's wolf pack.

And Aida hated this more than anything, feeling like it was a mockery. Though she now knew that Kiri and the others lived, she still would never forgive Chach for killing K'eyush and Dakir. The lynx and caracal had been good friends to her.

It was a similar kind of hate that Myra held to Lord Drysenn. The only difference being that Aida was stronger, since she had to live and work with the guy. Myra knew that if she saw Drysenn, she'd try her best to kill the Falskin lord. This was the biggest difference between Myra and Aida.

"So," one of the wolves near to Myra hedged hesitantly. "You made it all the way to Arlea?"

"Yes," Myra said, smiling at the wolf. She'd fallen in love with the entire species, finding them one of the most noble of Ch'kiliil species so far. Though others had assisted, only Aida and her wolves had truly stood up against the rest of the cabin.

She didn't know all their names, but they didn't seem to mind. It also seemed likely to Myra that they were all still scared of her. And that only made sense. Decades of abuse by her species to theirs would leave some deep marks.

"What was it like?" the wolf asked, eyes averted from Myra's face. She knew, from what she'd seen so far in the mines, that the Falskin imposed that you were never to look a master in the eyes. The slaves apparently had a hard time breaking that habit around her, even though she was just as much a slave as them.

"Beautiful," Myra said sadly, thinking back to what she'd seen of Arlea. "There were lush trees, taller and more powerful than any I'd seen before. The hillscape was rough and rocky, with tall mountains, and massive boulders. Clouds concealed the tops of the mountains."

"Clouds?" another wolf asked curiously. "You mean, like, clouds? The white fluffy things?"

"Yes, those clouds," Myra smiled. "The mountains were so tall they broke through the clouds."

The wolves seemed to think about this for a time, with some other slaves nearby listening in. Lynxes, foxes, caracals. The species in this cabin were quite varied.

"Tell me something," Aida said, shifting closer to Myra. Though the reptilian had originally been off-put by the wolves' nudity, they had soon grown accustomed to it. However, just because they were used to seeing it, didn't mean they were ready to show_it themselves. "Where did you go in Arlea? Where _could you go? I mean, you said that you and your friends were assault by Drysenn's armies, but where were you?"

"We were at the Assassin's Guild," Myra said, looking over at Aida. "Kiri's brother Kar'na helped get us-"

"Kiri has a brother?" four wolves, including Aida, exclaimed simultaneously.

Myra, slightly surprised, nodded her assent, and the wolves looked at each other in silent discussion. The mines had been called off today, for there was a massive rain system on its way. The Falskin lords didn't want a flash flood from the nearby lake to wipe out all the miners.

"And his name's Kar'na?" Aida asked, tilting her head at Myra. "What's he like?"

"What was he like," Myra corrected, a pang of guilt slicing deep into her chest. "I'm...I'm pretty sure he's dead now."

"Oh..." Aida said, apparently caught off-guard. "I'm...I'm sorry. I didn't mean to bring up a wound."

"No, it's quite alright," Myra said, straightening herself up. Kar'na wouldn't have wanted her to mope his death forever. "I just...feel guilty. He died trying to save us from Drysenn."

Aida looked like she was about to say something, but Myra continued, oblivious to the wolfess.

"Kar'na was a great friend," she said fondly. "He had a great sense of humour, and was overall one of the nicest people I'd ever met. And above all, he was a warrior. Skilled in battle, and terrifying to behold, Kar'na could never be beat in one-on-one. He was a Master Assassin for a reason."

"We're still talking about Kiri's brother, right?" one of the wolves asked, apparently in disbelief. "Kiri's brother was a Master Assassin?"

"The best of them," Myra smiled. "If it wasn't for Kar'na...I highly doubt our group would've made it through Parai."

"If you don't mind me asking....how'd he die?" the lynx who'd defended her asked quietly. He was a nice guy, though Myra didn't know his name.

"He took an arrow from an archer, trying to rescue Aryn and I from Drysenn," Myra said sadly, looking at her brother, who'd said very little since being enslaved. "If it hadn't been for that archer, Kar'na would probably still be alive."

"You're all a bunch of idiots," Chach growled. "You actually believe her?"

He looked to the rest of the cabin, who had gone silent, listening to Myra's story. Everyone's attention was now fixed on Chach.

"It's obvious what she's trying to do," the massive bear said, his sole eye roaming to meet everyone else's. "She's spinning a story, so you'll trust her more. It's a simple trick. Making up details as she goes, to make it seem more believable."

"Why would I lie about Kar'na?" Myra demanded.

"None of us have even heard of Kar'na," Chac growled. "And yet, apparently he's a Master Assassin? Why wouldn't you mention this earlier?"

"You just don't like it that a wolf could be better now than you ever will be," Myra snapped. "Come on Chach, admit it. You just hate wolves."

"Damn right I hate wolves," Chach growled. "Mangy canines. But as much as I hate these fleabags, they're still at least Ch'kiliil. That's more than I can say about you, Scaleback."

Myra glared at Chach, but said nothing.

"You know," Aryn commented idly. "If you were representative of the whole species, I'd be ashamed to be Ch'kiliil anyways. Luckily, _you're_an outlier in Ch'kiliil society."

All the eyes in the cabin swung to Chach, who was seeming even bigger than before, murderous fury in his eyes.

"You. Little. Lizard!"

Aryn glanced evenly at him, a disinterested look in his eyes. "Is that really the best you can come up with? You know, let me tell you something."

Aryn got to his feet, looking evenly at Chach.

"I don't give a single talon about whether or not you believe Myra about Kar'na. But if you don't believe in Kar'na, you should be very nervous. For we made it across Parai. Our friends were untrained slaves. So if Kar'na didn't help us, you can be damn sure we're the most dangerous Falskin you've ever met. Now shut up, and let us live our lives. We're stuck in this hellhole just as much as you."

With that, Aryn sat back down, resuming what he had been doing before, which was whittling a small statuette of a wolf, out of a piece of wood, with a piece of sharp stone.

Chach glared at Aryn, and Myra felt the wolves around her tense up, ready to spring into action if needed. However, Chach simply turned away.

"You're not worth it," he growled. "Especially with all the fleabags protecting you."

Aryn made no reply, which apparently frustrated Chach, but the bear did nothing.

"Are you trying to get us all killed?" Aida hissed quietly, when Chach was back among his own side. "That bear could kill us!"

"Aren't we dead anyway?" Aryn asked, looking evenly at Aida. "Our sentence here is a death sentence. We're stuck here."

"We can escape," one of the wolves said quietly. "The others did it. So could we!"

"The walls weren't here when the others escaped," another of the wolves said sadly. "I doubt we could climb over. And even if we could, it'd be at least thirty feet down to the other side. All with guards looking for us."

Myra sat quietly at this, trying to think. Aida had proposed the idea of escape a long time back, but was it truly possible. Sure, anything was possible, but an escape at this time was...unlikely at best."

"What about a revolution?" the Falskin suggested after a while. "We outnumber the guards at least two to one. If we could get our picks, maybe some weapons from the Forge, and we'd stand an even chance."

But before she'd even finished speaking, Aida was already shaking her head. "It'd take us time to gather all the tools and weapons together, and they do a pickaxe tally every night. If one was missing, we'd all get in trouble for it. And the blacksmiths...a few of them are informers. Like that brander, the bastard Grey."

Hearing the wolf's name made Myra shiver. That massive wolf was as sadistic and twisted as they came. And if he were an informant, it would be almost impossible to access the weapons and equipment in the Forge.

"So then...what?" Myra asked. "I refuse to simply work here until I die. If I have to die here, I want it to be with a purpose! And if people can escape once...they can do it again."

The group went quiet for a while, before Aida sat up like she'd been hit with a lightning bolt. First, she sat there, then a smile appeared on her face, as the bushy tail behind her started wagging. A common wolf symbol for happiness.

"I've got an idea!" she exclaimed. "The mines! The mines travel well beneath the walls. And though they always dig down, we could get a tunnel dug up if we found an ore vein."

"You're right!" another wolf agreed excitedly. "And if we took a few chunks of ore, and placed them just so, we could make it look like a new vein."

"Hush," the lynx who'd first assisted said, coming over and gesturing. "Don't inform the others. If you're all going, I want in. But do you think this could work?"

"So far, it's the only thing I could see working," Aida said, turning to look at the lynx. "All other plans have huge flaws. This one, though it has its flaws, seems like it could work."

"But we alone can't leave!" one of the wolves, whom Myra placed as Aida's brother, Rid'k, exclaimed quietly. "We have friends here. And others!"

"I don't know if we can take them, Rid'k," Aida said, confirming Myra's suspicions. "There's just too many slaves here. To free them all would mean we'd be too easily discovered on the roads. You can't just hide a group that large. But if we make it to Arlea, we can talk to the Assassins Guild. If they're like what Myra here has said, they'll help us in freeing all the slaves."

Rid'k looked like he wanted to argue, but had no valid arguments. He sat back down, face glazed in thought.

"So is this our plan then?" he asked finally. "We go out through the mines?"

"One second," the lynx said. "Myra has done more in this stuff than we have. We are literally drones, but she has lived out in the world. She'll know better than we will."

Why me? Myra wondered, as all eyes swung to her. Why am I_the one they all look to? They're older, stronger...probably braver._

"Well?" Aida prodded, tilting her head at Myra. She did that a lot.

"I...I think it's a good plan," the Falskin said at last. "Though, it will be hard. And, as much as it pains me to say it, I feel necessary to remind you all that we may not all survive."

The wolves and the lynx all nodded.

"Death is just a part of life," one commented, rather philosophically. "And it's the one thing we can never avoid. If it means we make it out of this hell, I'm all for it."

"Same," the lynx agreed.

"Aye."

The group rang out with agreements and, by the time night was falling, a plan was set. Tomorrow, provided they made it to the mines at all, it would be sprung. First, they'd put the ore in place, and begin mining a new tunnel. This tunnel only needed to go up at an angle, and they'd be free.

When Aida and Myra lay down side-by-side, and when the candle went dark, they grinned.