FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Azee winced slightly as she trod on a sharp piece of stone that poked her between the pads of her feet. Her feet ached, unaccustomed as they were to walking upon rocky paths. Kicking the pebble free, she shifted the heavy pack on her back and kept walking.

After reaching the top of the cliffs that surrounded Flinton Valley, the trio had picked up a narrow trail that Eloise claimed ran parallel to the main road. Despite the uneven, and markedly uncomfortable path, Azee was glad that Eloise had selected this route. With the chances of meeting anyone else on this road slim, Eloise and Luke had agreed, with some convincing, to allow her to walk free of the rope tied to her collar. It wasn't much, but it felt wonderfully liberating.

"So why do they call this stepstone pass?" Azee asked, walking alongside Eloise.

"We're not at stepstone pass just yet," Eloise replied. "But we are very close."

Azee nodded. "Okay... but why the name?"

Eloise smiled to herself. "You'll see. Trust me, it's better experienced with your eyes rather than your ears."

Azee frowned a little. She had never liked secrets, they almost never led to anything good; but the smile on Eloise's face stopped her from pushing the issue.

With the stunning vista of Flinton valley left behind, the landscape had swiftly turned to a series of gently rolling stone hills of sun-baked red rock, scraggly scrub, and dozens of canyons. To Azee the land looked like the soil in the fields when there hadn't been rain for a long time. The cracks that formed in the hard packed soil looked much like the canyons and valleys that split the land around them.

The canyons snaked wildly across hills, twisting back and forth, meeting up with one another for a time, before going off in unpredictable directions.

Luke, Azee, and Eloise made their way through a wide valley of burnt umber stone. A small creek babbled happily away to itself as it wound its way across the stones. The sun was out of sight, and as the sky began to take on an orange hue, the shadows in the valley grew darker by the moment.

"Why are all these rocks red?" Azee asked after a few more minutes walking, pausing for a moment to bend down and pick up a pebble, each thin layer a subtly different shade of red.

"Iron in the rock," Luke replied as he came up beside Azee. "All this red is basically just rust."

"Where did this canyon come from then?"

"This stream carved it over aeons and aeons."

"But it's so small."

"Not always. When the winter snows melt, streams like this become huge rivers. All that water helps feed Flinton valley."

"But how does water do this to rock?"

"Well... it's been doing this for a long time."

"How long?"

"I... I don't really know., Luke admitted. "The holy texts say that Halcyon was created for the Lord's chosen people in an instant when humans first came to this plane, but that seems unlikely."

"What is with all of the questions?" Eloise asked, looking over her shoulder.

"I'm just curious." Azee's ears dropped a little. "I... apologise."

"No no, don't be sorry," Luke said hurriedly. "It's good that you are curious, it's how the world and people grow."

For a moment, Azee felt a warm glow in her chest as Luke smiled at her. But after a few moments, Azee started to feel a sort of desperation, of hopefulness behind his words.

Azee's eyes narrowed slightly, her ears flattening against her head.

"Azee? What's wrong."

"Nothing," she sniffed, before taking hold of the straps of her pack and speeding up her pace to leave Luke behind.

"What did I say?" He demanded, spreading his arms.

"It's not what you said, it's why you are saying it."

"Wha-what do you mean?"

"You're just trying to get on my good side."

Luke raised an eyebrow. "Are you serious? I'm answering your questions! It's nice to see you inquisitive again."

"I've always been inquisitive." Azee snapped back, not wanting to admit that she couldn't quite remember what the word meant. "But all you want to do is talk about war with the North, or some terrible new weapon the army is building, or what crops you want to plant for next year."

Azee's eyes narrowed a little. "Though I suppose I should say: 'the crops you want your slaves to plant next year'."

Biting back his anger as best he could, Luke raised his hands in surrender. "Fine, I'll stop, but you-"

"But you don't really care about my questions," Azee continued, turning her nose up at Luke. "You just want me to smile and trust you again."

"That isn't fair!"

"How is it not fair?" Azee glared over her shoulder.

Luke paused for a moment. "I know I hurt you, and I'm sorry for that."

"No you aren't. You're angry that you're being inconvenienced."

"I am not!"

"I can feel your thoughts, remember?"

"Well I can't control the thoughts that just appear in my head!"

"You don't even try!" Azee growled, her ears pressed flat against her head and her tail curling between her legs. "You're so wrapped up in being the 'master' that you don't get why we're here! You're never going to change."

"Azee..." Luke threw up his hands. "I don't know what to say. I thought we were making progress!"

Azee sighed and shook her head. "You know... I thought that maybe... maybe after our fight this morning... maybe you would... start to understand how I felt. But you're still you... still the Master."

"I just don't get it..." Luke growled in frustration. "I can't say anything, can I?"

"Just... never mind."

"So that's it? We're just going to fight forever?"

"Seems like it." Azee spun around. "Or at least until I never have to see you again."

"Azee!"

"Stop!" Azee commanded, bringing the full force of their link to bear, and freezing Luke in place. "I don't want to hear it."

Luke fell silent, though he continued to glare at her.

Grumbling to herself, Azee strode up and walked alongside Eloise.

"Something the matter?" Eloise asked, looking sideways at the bristling canine marching along beside her.

"Oh no, everything's just wonderful."

"You know there are those that say that sarcasm is the lowest form of humour." Eloise shrugged as Azee turned her head and glared. "Relax, young one. Who knows, if you keep trying to drill the message into his skull it may just stick one of these times."

"You're no better."

"Oh?"

"You knew I cared about him, that I didn't really want to shoot him... and then you held his life over my head."

"Don't lie to yourself, young one." Eloise scoffed. "You very much wanted to shoot him in that moment."

"No I didn't..." Azeee grumbled, though she doubted Eloise would be convinced by such an obvious lie."

"You made your choice. Perhaps you came to regret it once his blood was on the floor, but that really doesn't matter in the long run."

"Don't tell me what I felt!"

A half smile crossed Eloise's face. "Oh don't misunderstand me child, it was a perfectly understandable, though somewhat dramatic if I may say so, action considering what happened just before."

Azee could think of nothing to say and instead stared down at the ground. Moodily she kicked at a small patch of scrub, sending a blizzard of fluffy seeds into the air.

"And now, as with every other choice made by every other being since the beginning of time, that choice has consequences."

Azee shivered slightly, gripping her own arms. "When you say consequences, you mean making me your slave."

Eloise sighed and shook her head. "For heaven's sake, how many times do I have to tell you, I have no interest in having you as a slave."

"But... you had Luke draw up papers..."

"Yes, because I didn't want you just running off."

"So I am your slave?"

"In name only."

"Then what do you want?" Azee demanded. "Why keep me?"

"Curiosity."

"About what?" Azee was very nearly frantic.

"About you."

"B-but I'm nothing! A runt! A-a-a-a c-canine m-mut without a-anything s-special..."

"I told you before, didn't I, that that collar of yours is not something that can just be overcome with raw strength. I want to know how you did it."

Eloise's question caught Azee off guard. "B-but I-I d-dont know how I d-did it..."

"I know. Which is why I want to watch you, observe you."

Azee wanted to speak, but no words came. Her mouth opened and closed for a moment, before with a weary sigh her shoulders slumped.

Eloise reached over and put an arm around Azee, gently stroking the fur at the back of her neck. "It'll be alright. What I see in you is... potential. For what, I really don't know. When you've been around for as long as I have you get a sense for people, especially for the ones that are different. And you are very different."

"I wish none of this had happened." Azee mumbled, leaning against Eloise. "I wish I was back home... with Luke and Chara."

"No, you don't." Eloise smiled down at Azee. "And it's time you forgave yourself for that."

"For what?"

"For putting yourself in this position, for making the choice. Everyone who sees the world for what it is has times when they wish they could just... block it out, forget it, cut the engine, dump the coal overboard, and let the river take them where it will."

Eloise glanced back at Luke. "Some do this with drink, while others remain willfully blind, But, as hard as it is, it is always better to know."

Azee paused for a moment before looking up at Eloise. "What about you?"

"Hmm?"

"How do you... cope. How did you forgive yourself for... for what you do?"

Eloise blinked in surprise. Turning her eyes back to the canyon she was quiet for several minutes, her mind miles and miles away.

"You know, young one... I don't think I know," she said at last. "But I do know I want things to change, even if only a little, and even if only for a few. I suppose, in a way, you are my coping mechanism, a catalyst for changing things."

"I wish I wasn't."

"I know, but there are things we cannot control."

As they approached a small ridge at the end of the canyon, Eloise squeezed Azee's shoulder. "Look on the bright side, if none of this had happened, would you have ever seen Flinton valley from the side of a mountain?"

"I suppose not."

"Would you have any hope of finding Chara?"

"No."

"And-" Eloise and Azee reached the top of the ridge, "-would you have ever seen something like this."

Azee's breath caught as she looked out over the land stretching before her. Dozens upon dozens of winding canyons carved through the rocky, red landscape, creating an impossibly complex labyrinth of rolling hills and jagged cliffs. The canyon sides were striped with a dazzling number of rock layers, each a slightly different shade of red than the one above and below.

But what struck Azee most were the hundreds of rocky columns that thrust upwards from the canyon floors at seemingly random intervals. Some were narrow and thin, others round and thick, while still others seemed to be simply tall stacks of boulders. But all of the towers were the exact same height, and each had a large rocky platform that flared outward from the base, like vast flat cap mushrooms.

The setting sun lit the whole landscape ablaze with brilliant orange and red light. The rusty red rock glowed a striking crimson in the evening light. The jagged rocks and alien towers cast pitch black shadows across the canyons, like streaks of black paint upon a canvas.

"Welcome, to stepstone pass." Eloise patted Azee's shoulder as she started down the narrow, winding path towards the floor of the canyon.

"Those towers, are they the stepstones?"

"Legend has it that giants used to live in this area, in a time when the land was sea. The giants used those rocky towers as stepping stones to keep their feet from getting wet." Eloise called over her shoulder as Azee started down the path behind her.

"How are they still standing?" Azee stared in awe at one of the towers, its base seemingly impossibly small, narrow enough that Azee imagined she could wrap her arms around it.

"No one knows. Perhaps the rock is made of something unique, or maybe just pure dumb luck."

"They're so beautiful..."

"That they are, just make sure you stay close and don't wander off," Eloise warned, picking her way over a rough section of the path. "There are more than a few sets of dried bones resting amongst these canyons; travellers that wandered off the path and got lost in this maze."

After a few minutes of careful climbing, Eloise, Azee and Luke reached the floor of one of the canyons.

"Alright, let's start looking for a place to camp," Eloise said, forging ahead. "And if you see any sticks, pick them up, firewood is hard to come by here."

As she started walking, Azee couldn't stop gawking at the sights around her. The canyon walls were jagged, like the jaws of some vast beast, the bright red stones like giant ruby fangs. Never, in her entire life, had she imagined that such a place could exist.

Each of her footsteps echoed all around her, as did Luke and Eloise's. Every breath they took, every jingle of the clasps on their packs, every pebble they dislodged, echoed amongst the stones, creating a relentless cacophony that rang in her sensitive ears.

As the trio rounded the first bend, Azee suddenly paused. Her head jerked to the left, ears twitching.

"What is it?" Luke asked, his hand flashing down to his gun.

"I thought I heard something."

"Well?"

Azee squinted as she peered around the canyon walls, trying to see inside the dark crevices. "Something is moving..."

"Are you sure?" Luke asked, glancing around.

"I'm sure."

"Alright, but-" As Luke started to speak, the sound of skittering claws upon stone rang out again.

"See! There is something..."

"Yep..." Luke wrapped his fingers around the handle of his gun. "Colour me convinced."

"Where?" Eloise demanded, her gaze darting from shadow to shadow, her hand hovering just above the hilt of her knife.

Azee's brow furrowed in concentration as she listened for any movement, ears perked up as far as they would go.

Then, from behind a large boulder, she caught sight of a flash of movement.

"There!" She shouted, raising a hand and pointing.

With a flick of her wrist, Eloise's pistol leapt into her hand.

"Stay behind me," Luke commanded, stepping in front of Azee and drawing his own weapon.

Slowly, cautiously, both Eloise and Luke crept forwards, guns raised and aimed at the boulder. Azee's heart pounded in her chest as she heard more movement.

All of a sudden, an ear piercing shriek filled the canyon as a strange creature exploded out from behind the boulder. The creature was almost half the size of Azee, with four thin avian legs, tipped with long toes and razor sharp talons. A pair of wings on its back, brilliant white and covered in huge feathers, beat the air with the force of a hurricane. The strange creature's face was that of an owl, with four piercing black eyes framed against a cowl of white and grey.

With another ear piercing shriek the creature flew directly at Luke, its talons outstretched.

"Shit!" Luke pulled the trigger, but his shot was wild, missing the creature entirely and kicking up a spray of red dust as it slammed into the canyon wall. He stumbled backwards, ducking out of the way of the talons, but falling flat on his back as he did.

With a final indignant call, the creature flapped its great wings hard and tore out of the canyon and into the orange sky at great speed.

Luke leapt to his feet, raising his pistol. As his finger wrapped around the trigger, Eloise grabbed his arm and forced it down.

"Don't, leave it alone!"

"What? Why?"

"It's bad luck to kill trifits."

Azee tilted her head, trying to catch sight of the creature again as it vanished into the sky. "Trifits?"

Eloise nodded. "It's Drathainian, one of the animals they brought with them when they invaded. They would use them for scouting and hunting. That creature is probably just about as intelligent as you are Windhill."

As Azee looked around she noticed a single, long feather laying on the ground. Bending down she picked up the fallen plume, staring at it. The feather was brown, fading to white near the tip, with an intricate pattern of black and red tracing its length.

"Beautiful," she whispered, drawing her finger down the long feather, enjoying the way the soft fibres bent around her claw before perfectly retaking shape.

"And what if the Order is using these creatures?" Luke demanded, shoving his pistol back into its holster. "What if it reveals our location?"

"I doubt it."

"And why is that?"

"Because the Tyrant had them declared as 'unclean' and wiped them out." Eloise returned her pistol to her sleeve. "You almost never find them this far south."

"Even if all of that is true, it still could have made for a good supper." Luke grumbled, inspecting a tear in his jacket made by the trifit.

"You can't eat something that beautiful." Azee glared at Luke.

"It's no more beautiful than a chicken, and you love those."

"Believe me, they don't taste very good." Eloise picked up her pack and slung it onto her back. "Too tough and greasy."

Azee sniffed and turned away from Luke. With her claws she pulled a thread from the frayed edge of her poncho and snipped it with her teeth. With some difficulty she managed to tie the feather to a lock of hair along the side of her face.

"Better than a chicken feather." She declared, looking back at Luke and shaking her head.

"Yes, that is true," Luke admitted. For a second he thought about telling Azee she was beautiful, but as she turned away he thought better of it.

With a wry smile, Eloise returned to the path." Well, shall we see about finding a campsite?"

===

Sailing on great currents of wind and rising hot air, the trifit flew high above the twisting canyons of stepstone pass. With no need for wingbeats, the elegant creature glided with practised grace from updraft to updraft.

As he flew, the trifit's sharp eyes scanned the land below, searching for the slightest trace of movement.

Spotting a large lizard, basking in the last rays of the sun, the trifit folded its wings and dove down at its scaly target.

The lizard neither saw nor heard its doom approaching until it was far too late. Like an arrow loosed from above, the trifit dove into the canyon and sunk his talons into the lizard, piercing through scaly armour with ease. The lizard barely had time to twitch before it was hauled off the rock, and its spine severed with a single bite from the hunter's razor sharp beak.

With his prize in his talons, the trifit once more took to the sky.

As the sun slipped below the horizon, the moon rose high into the sky. The trifit was unbothered as the last vestiges of sunlight faded away into inky darkness.

Hours passed as the trifit flew, gliding effortlessly across the landscape. The sky was just filling with stars as the trifit approached an especially large stepping stone. A thin trail of smoke rose into the sky from the centre of the step.

With a satisfied chirp, the trifit began to descend, heading towards the glowing coals of the fire.

Dropping its prey to the stone, the trifit made a delicate landing, luxuriously shaking off its feathers. With obvious pride, he took the lizard into its beak and carried it towards a figure seated beside the fire.

"Hello, what did you bring for us today, precious one." the figure crooned, her voice soft and gentle as she extended a furred hand.

Like an obedient hunting cat, the trifit placed the lizard in the woman's hand.

"Well done Xia." The woman reached out and gently scratched the trift's chin, eliciting a series of happy squeals.

Drawing a long thin bone knife from her belt, the woman lowered her hood, releasing a pair of rounded ears, topped with brilliant tufts of white from their confines. A mane of jet black hair ran down her back, twisted into a cascade of beaded braids and locks bound with thin leather cords.

As the woman set about carving up the lizard, the Xia paced back and forth impatiently, the light from the glowing coals reflecting in its large golden eyes. Eventually he let out an irritated screech, flaring the feathers around his face.

The woman paused and turned towards her companion. "What is it?"

With one of his front feet, Xia pawed at the ground three times.

"Travellers? Interesting."

Xia bobbed his head, as if nodding in agreement, before letting out three short screeches, two high pitched and one lower.

"Two humans and a Shiyan? Curiouser and curiouser. Well, shouldn't be too hard to avoid them, we-"

As the woman spoke, Xia bent down and tapped his beak against the ground four times.

Immediately, the woman stopped, the knife frozen in midair.

"You're certain?"

Xia squacked indignantly.

"Hmm, well that changes things." Slicing a thin strip of meat from the lizard, the woman extended it towards her loyal scout. "How long?"

Again Xia pawed at the ground, this time only one long line, and then a shorter one.

"Good, then we have some time to prepare."

Tossing another morsel to Xia, the woman looked up into the sky, her feline nose flaring as she took in the scents hanging in the air.

"Another with the gift of blood... How exciting. I suppose we'll have to see how this goes."

Pushing a sharpened stick through the lizard's carcass, the woman stuck it over the fire. She smiled as the juices spat and hissed upon the red hot coals.

"It will be nice to have some more company for a change."

===

"Alright, lets go," Snyder called out, gesturing towards the door of the male slave barn with the handle of his coiled whip. A long line of exhausted slaves trudged past him into the barn, some of them immediately dropping down onto the straw mats. Most muttered some kind of greeting as they passed, though Snyder didn't pay any particular attention.

"Kessel, what's the count?" Snyder demanded as one of the slaves, a tall canine with dull blue eyes and black fur tipped with silver, approached him.

"Everyone is here and accounted for sir." Kessel bowed his head, the day's fatigue easily visible upon his face.

"Anything to report?"

Kessel shook his head. "Nothing major sir. Fiss stepped on a stinger, so he's limping, and Aegir's wrist is still broke."

"Keep an eye on Fiss, will you? We don't want to be down another hand."

"As you command."

"Good." Snyder extended a hand. "Alright, hand it over."

Nodding, Kessel reached down to the thick leather belt at his waist. Four long loops of rope hung from rings sewn into the leather. A sling on Kessel's right hip carried a club with a single iron spike on one side. Finally, a silver whistle was attached to a thin iron chain around Kessel's neck.

"Well done, getting the south west field done today." Snyder muttered, low enough that no one else could hear. "I'll see to it you get an extra morsel."

"Rather my lads get an extra spoonful if it's all the same."

Snyder sighed to himself. "I'll see what I can do."

Handing over his belt and his whistle, Kessel bowed once more to Snyder. "Good night sir,"

he said, no longer whispering.

"Mhmm, get some rest."

Turning, Kessel stepped into the barn and headed towards a set of stairs leading to a second level platform that overlooked the other slaves. Unlike the common slaves, Kessel and the other gang fores slept separately, on actual mattresses rather than simple piles of straw. It was easier to use pelt watchers, called fores, to keep track of the hundreds of slaves necessary to keep the ranch running, rather than hiring a small army of overseers.

Snyder always found it remarkable how even a few meagre luxuries were enough to keep the fores in line. In all his years at the ranch, only two fores had ever made any problems, one that had succeeded in escaping, and the other a savage brute who's stupidity had cost him his life.

Snyder watched as Kessel climbed the stairs, his eyes sweeping the few slaves still up and milling about. Kessel was relatively well liked, a fair and judicious leader, so the chances of one of the other slaves deciding to attack him for being a 'collaborator' or some other such nonsense, were low. But Snyder knew better than to be complacent. Besides having a certain fondness for Kessel, a fondness Snyder kept very much to himself, training a replacement gang fore was troublesome. It meant picking a slave that could be trusted with weapons, limited though they were, and who smart enough to recognize warning signs, but not smart enough to use their position to their own advantage. They would also have to walk the fine line between being stern but not cruel.

'Like that idiot Hawk,' Snyder pondered. 'What a nightmare that was...'

Once satisfied that his loyal fore was secure, Snyder nodded his head at two other overseers standing beside him. "Alright, lock them down."

Three large iron bars, mounted to poles driven deep into the ground, ran the length of each slave barn, with straw mats placed on either side. Overnight the slaves would be chained in rows to the bars, making escape a great deal more difficult.

As the other two overseers set about securing the slaves for the night, Snyder folded his hands behind his back. Stifling a yawn he began wandering around the main yard of the slave stocks.

The Windhill Ranch slave stock was a large, walled in space, at the southwest corner of the estate, kept largely out of view of the main house. Five large buildings dominated the slave stocks, the three largest of which were the sleeping barns, one for females, one for males, and one for mothers and their young children. A wall, easily twice as high as Snyder was tall, with thousands of shards of broken glass embedded directly into the mortar, surrounded the stocks. Across the yard from the barns was the slave mess, a low, straw thatched building where the morning and evening meals were handed out.

A single sniff of the air as he walked by the entrance of the mess made Snyder happy that he got to eat real food, rather than the slop the slaves were fed.

The final building of the slave stocks was set against the western wall, made from pale yellow brick and sporting a faded tin roof. The building had in fact once been the quarters for overseers, though by the time Snyder had been hired by Luke's father, it had been converted into the breeding quarters.

Snyder frowned as his gaze swept the darkened windows of the now-empty building. 'Why in damnation did the young master order us to shut it down? More mouths to feed... utter nonsense, breeding and studding is the only way we stand to turn a profit this year...'

Snyder's frown deepened. 'Could it have been that pet of his? Could she be manipulating him somehow?'

Shaking his head, Snyder resumed his work. 'No... no that doesn't make sense either. The young master's fond of the runt, but he's not that insane.'

Making his way towards the female barn, Snyder noted an argument taking place between a fore and an overseer. Another slave stood beside the fore, a large tigress that Snyder recognized as Fray.

"This is your damned fault, pelt, you're supposed to be watching them!" the overseer growled, one hand on his pistol and the other extending an accusatory finger into the fore's face.

Snyder's nose wrinkled as he quickened his pace. He hated having to train new overseers, especially young men who were experiencing their first taste of real power, limited as it was.

"If she's run off, I'll have you strung up! Both of you! You understand me, pelt?" The overseer barked, his voice cracking once or twice as he tried his best to be intimidating, despite being little more than a boy.

The fore, an older female lutrine, who stood a head taller than the boy, seemed utterly unimpressed. Her strong arms were crossed over her chest, though Snyder noted that her left hand was hovering ever so slightly closer to the handle of her club.

"Sir, I promise you she hasn't run off." Fray said, trying to keep her voice steady.

"Was I talking to you?" The overseer rounded on Fray, pulling a club from his belt. "Another word from you and I'll-"

Before the overseer could move, the lutrine fore's arm shot out and grabbed his wrist. Two other overseers nearby drew their weapons, but the fore didn't move. Her grip was like iron as she glared at the boy, whose face was suddenly a mask of terror. The other female slaves began to mutter and grumble to themselves.

As the young overseer tried to pull away, the fore lifted him off the ground as if he were a rag-doll.

"Vali, let him go, now!" Snyder barked as he strode over.

"As you wish." Vali replied, releasing her grip.

The young overseer stumbled as his feet returned to the ground, and he fell on his rear. A small chorus of laughs rose up from the other slaves, though the loud snap of Snyder's switch against the wall of the barn silenced them.

"Lee would you get up out of the damn dirt!" Snyder demanded, hauling the boy back to his feet by the collar of his shirt. "Now just what is going on here?"

"One of the slaves is missing!" Lee jabbed his finger at Vali. "She was supposed to be under this one's watch!"

Snyder turned to Vali. "Explain, now."

Snyder's glare, unlike Lee's, made Vali visibly wither. "Sir, with respect, I sent Keeli to go and have a wash in the river. She must not have heard the return bell."

"A wash?"

"Sh-she's in heat, sir." Fray offered up, keeping her voice low. "And the scent is... aggravating to some of the others."

"Damn lie!" Lee bellowed, turning red in the face. "Can't trust no pelt no how! I'll bet she's miles away from here by now!"

After silencing Lee with a single glance, Snyder raised an eyebrow. "You do realise that you will share her punishment if she doesn't return, yes?"

Vali bowed her head. "Yes sir."

"And you," Snyder glanced at Fray, "you're certain she hasn't made a run for it?"

Fray nodded her head. "Yes sir, I am certain. She has nowhere to go and she would never survive out in the swamps on her own. She must have gotten lost, or simply lost track of time."

With an irritated sigh, Snyder nodded. "Fine. If she's not back by midnight, she'll be considered a runaway, and you two will both be staked-" he nodded his head at a trio of solid wood posts in the centre of the yard, "until she is brought back, understand?"

Trying hard to hide her nervousness, Fray nodded. "Yes sir."

Vali also nodded. "Understood."

"Give me your belt, now."

Vali removed her belt and handed it over to Snyder without resistance.

"Vali, you and the rabbit can skip breakfast tomorrow," Snyder added, handing the belt over to Lee, who was silently stewing in red-faced rage. "And the next time you lay a hand on an overseer, I'll cut it off. Understood?"

Vali bowed her head. "Yes sir."

"Good, now git." Snyder turned to Lee. "You, with me."

"Can you believe the nerve of those pelts?" Lee fumed as he followed behind Snyder. "Ain't sayin I don't respect Master Windhill, but I think he's got too light of a touch fer his own good."

Snyder said nothing, and continued walking. After a few moments he and Lee arrived at the heavy iron gate which was the only way in or out of the slave stocks.

Lee was still talking, but Snyder wasn't paying the least bit of attention. As soon as he was certain that they were out of sight of the barns, Snyder grabbed the boy by the scruff of his shirt and slammed him against the gate.

"Let me make this exceptionally clear to you, boy," Snyder growled, his face inches away from Lee's. "This is not a place for you to get off on your own power. If you give a threat, you make damn certain it is one you intend to follow through on."

"B-but- I meant-"

"There is not one pelt in this place, escapee or not, who is worth 'stringing up' a fore and a house slave over,." Snyder interrupted, tightening his grip. "And you never, ever, put your hands on a weapon unless you truly mean to use it. The threat of violence is the only thing that keeps us from being torn into pieces by these creatures, and the moment they start to think that you don't mean it when you threaten them, you and everyone else round here is good as fish food. Do you understand me?"

Lee nodded quickly. "Y-yes Mister Snyder."

"Good." Snyder dropped the overseer to the ground, kicking him in the rear as he fell. "Now you're gonna stand guard here, at the gate, till the rabbit gets back"

As Lee nodded, nursing a bruised rump and ego, Snyder turned and started walking towards the overseers' quarters.

Nestled amongst a small stand of willow trees, the overseer's quarters were a half dozen long buildings made from heavy logs and stone, laid out in a semicircle. A large firepit was dug in the centre, over which hung a big pot of bubbling stew.

Half a dozen overseers were sat round the fire, talking and drinking. One of the men had a violin and was playing a jaunty tune, while another sat and whittled. Another pair sat a short distance off, one dictating a letter home while the other wrote it for him.

"Where is everyone?" Snyder asked, glancing around.

"Comb and some of the boys heard there was some kind of hub-bub in town and took off."

"Hub-ub? When abouts?"

"Few hours ago. Said they'd be back fer guard duty."

Shaking his head, Snyder grabbed a bowl from a nearby table and ladelled himself a bowl of stew. "Well they damn well better be."

"So how's it goin' boss?" one of the men called out as Snyder sat down on a log beside the fire.

"Tell you the truth it was a perfectly satisfactory day until I had to straighten out the new hire," Snyder grumbled, taking a bite.

"Lee?"

"Yep."

"That kid needs to pull his head out of his rear 'fore we have a problem." the man agreed, tossing another log on the fire.

"He's just bound up tighter than a pig farmer's boots." One of the other overseers observed. "What the kid needs is a good tumble to straighten him out."

"Good luck with that." one of the female overseers chuckled. "He's got all the charm of an old swamp crab on a hot day."

"So what yer sayin is that yer not volunteerin' then Sally?" came a hoot from the other side of the fire.

A chorus of laughter rose as Sally made a rude gesture towards the man who had spoken.

"How's this, I'll give him a go right around the time you and every other man on this plane, and at least half the women, drop dead."

After another round of laughter, one of the other women shrugged. "Maybe one'a the pelts would volunteer?"

"Even I'm not mean enough to assign that task to them," Snyder chuckled. Finishing his stew he set his empty bowl aside. "Just keep an eye on him."

"You got it boss."

Getting to his feet, Snyder made his way towards the northernmost cabin and stepped inside. The cabin was cosy, if a little spartan. Two rows of bunk beds lined the walls, each separated by a thin curtain.

Making his way to the far end of the cabin, Snyder pushed aside the curtain surrounding his sleeping area. Like most of the other quarters, there wasn't much decor, just a set of drawers, a small mirror, and lamp on the wall.

After kicking off his boots, removing his coat, and hanging up his hat, Snyder climbed into the upper bunk. He smiled a little to himself as he ran his hand over the soft blanket that his wife had knitted and given to him on his last birthday.

Most of the overseers were unmarried and lived in the quarters full time. Those overseers that had families would stay on for a season or two before returning home for a spell. It had already been a whole season since Snyder had had a chance to see his family, and it would be at least one more before he had a chance to see them again.

Selecting a heavy, leatherbound book from the shelf above his head, Snyder activated the lamp with a flick of his finger and lay down with a heavy sigh. Snyder folded an arm behind his head, cracked open the book, and began to read.

===

When exactly he fell asleep, Snyder didn't know, but he was awakened some time later by the sound of Comb pushing aside the curtain and stumbling into their shared quarters. The darkness out of the nearby window, as well as the sounds of snoring coming from the other quarters, suggested that it was rather late.

"Where, in the lord's name, have you been?" Snyder demanded. As he leaned over the side of his bed a nauseating smell assaulted Snyder's nose, the smell of liquor, beer, smoke, and Lord knew what else, rising off of Comb.

"Just went into town with some of the lads," Comb replied with a slightly drunken grin.

"You'd best not be drunk, you have guard duty."

"Nope. One of the new lads, eeehh... Gill I think it was? Anyways, he challenged me to a friendly game a' pinfinger. So now I get t' have a good nights shuteye, and he ain't gonna be playin' the piano fer a while."

"You really shouldn't do that you know."

"I warned 'im, but he wasn't having it. 'Come on old man' I believe he said." Comb chuckled as he drew his knife from his belt, whirling it around his fingers before sticking it into the top of the chest of drawers.

"Fine. So long as someone is on the gate, I suppose it doesn't really matter."

"Yep. All in all, a damn fine evening. Too bad ya missed it."

With a barely suppressed sigh of irritation, Snyder raised an eyebrow. "Missed what?"

"So some new Order Agents rode into town this afternoon, right. Soon as they get 'ere, bam, well you know tha' pelt the chief judge was always knocking around with, turns out she got her paws on the old coots gun and blew the fool away."

"Really?"

"Yep. So anyway, these Order fellas, they tell everyone to round up a couple'a pelts so we can send a message, y'know."

Vaguely disgusted by his friend's excitement, Snyder nodded. "Right."

Kicking off his boots, Comb sat down on the edge of his bed. "Shoulda seen it Armin, you missed a hell of a party. Got about twenty pelts strung up, all down the street. Short drops too, so it was damn good show. An' once they stopped dancin', we started. Couple of lads found some instruments, couple of others... borrowed a few barrels of beer, and we had ourselves a good ol fashioned shindig."

"That right?"

"Yep. Them new Order boys said they were gonna stick around fer a while, get things back up to snuff, you know."

"Wonderful," Snyder rolled his eyes and dropped down.

"Which got me to thinkin'."

"Mhmm."

"You know, about the boy."

"Boy?"

"The Windhill brat."

Snyder's eyes slid open. "What about him?"

"Well.. he's got that blasted pet of his that he treats as if it were a human. The bitch shows her teeth to me and I'm the one who gets punished."

"He has a soft spot for one pelt, yes."

"He has a couple hard spots for her too you know. I've seen 'em a few times you know, and the way he holds her-" Comb made a show of lewd kissing and thrusting, "-'Azee, oh Azee'."

Sitting back up, Snyder met Comb's gaze. "Listen and listen close, Tom, not only is that not illegal, that is none of our business. The lord knows you've enjoyed your fair share of the pelts."

"There's a difference between training them, or using them when ya need yer trouser beast seen to, and treatin' the animals like lovers." A sly smile crossed Comb's lips, "'Sides, I ain't the only one who's sought out a warm hole on a lonely night, though I would stick to the hen house m'self."

Like the crack of a whip, Snyder's hand shot out to grab Comb by the throat; but Comb was just as quick. Even drunk, years of working as an overseer had trained Comb to see an attack coming before it even happened. He caught Snyder's wrist and held on tight.

"Mate, mate, relax," Comb laughed as Snyder glared at him. "Like you said, 't ain't illegal... yet."

Snyder said nothing, but the look in his eyes made even Comb's blood chill.

Releasing Snyder's wrist, Comb raised his hands. "All I'm sayin, is that maybe, just maybe, these Order boys might be interested in what's bin goin' on round 'ere."

"If you are threatening me-"

"No no, not you you bloody moron, the brat!" Comb leaned close. "Look, the boss has gotta be turning in his grave over what his spawn is doin' here. Telling us to 'take it easy' on the pelts, cuttin' off the breedin', the hell is our bonus gonna be this year, huh? Think you'll be able to feed that daughter of yers with a pat on the head?"

"My bonus is secure, as I don't tend to drink it in less than a week."

"Just sayin, the brat is gonna run us right into the ground at this rate."

"That 'brat' is your boss, and the master of this place," Snyder snarled. "And what matters is loyalty!"

"I am loyal, loyal to the Windhill name, not to some pelt-lovin' tan booter!"

Taking a moment to compose himself, Comb spoke quietly. "Look, I ain't sayin we get the brat strung up, I'm sayin that maybe this place could use some new leadership. If he were to be... replaced, as head of the family, well his sisters ain't gonna be keen to return to the shithole after livin in the Capital. Someone is gonna 'ave to run this place, so why not the two of us."

"Us?"

"Why not? We bin here the longest, we keep this place goin'."

"Edgar has been here longer than both of us."

"Edgar is a crazy ol' coot who got himself crotch blight from rutting with half the pelts come through this place! You an me, if the brat were to be found unfit to run the family, this place would be yours an mine in all but name!"

Comb sighed as he lay down on his bed, folding his arms behind his head. "Think of it, you an me, sleepin' in real beds, eatin' real food, sittin on the porch sipping whiskey while the pelts do what they was born to do, follow orders. We'll make this place the best damn ranch in all of Halcyon."

"You're drunk." Snyder grumbled, dousing the lamp with a flick of his finger. "Just go to sleep, and do yourself a favour and keep these 'thoughts' of yours to yourself."

"I may be drunk, but you know damn well I'm right."

"I know no such thing."

"Oh yes you do. Come on, be honest about it, do you really think that the brat has the stones to run this place right? That this place won't go the way of everywhere else in this shit county at this rate?"

After a long pause, Snyder grumbled again. "Just... go to sleep."

Smirking to himself, Comb stared up at the bottom of Synder's bunk. "Gonna make an example of that little pet of his too. Short drop, stiff rope, what a beautiful dance that'll be."

===

Sally Taber stifled a yawn as she walked her route around the Windhill property. Her loyal hunting cat padded along beside her, its eyes shining in the dark.

Glancing down at a pocket watch tucked into her coat, Sally sighed, it was still half an hour till midnight, and three hours before her shift was over. Even though the spring season would shortly be giving way to summer, the nights still carried a potent chill.

As she glanced at her watch, Sally's cat began to snarl, her tail twitching.

"What is it girl?" Sally asked, glancing down. Though her cat gave no reply, it's thrashing tail and bared teeth made it clear that something was out there.

Sally raised her lantern high, "Who's out there?" Her hand flashed down to her gun as she heard quiet shifting and footsteps nearby.

Keeli whimpered as she stepped out of the darkness, her arms raised over her head. "I-I'm sorry, I-I didn't mean to startle you."

"Name!" Sally called out, keeping her hand on her gun. "Tell me your name, now."

"K-Keeli sir- ma'am!"

"You were supposed to report to the barn hours ago! Where in damnation have you been?"

"V-Vali sent me t-to g-go have a b-bath. I g-got carried d-downstream and got lost in the swamp."

"You got lost?"

"Y-yes ma'am, I'm s-so sorry." Keeli shivered as Sally's cat growled and took a threatening step forward, its claws digging into the pathway as it made ready to lunge.

"Calibri! Back!" Sally snapped, yanking on the cat's leash. As the cat stood down, dropping to its haunches with a quiet grumble, Sally turned back to Keeli, her eyes narrowed. "Why are you skulking around here? Go to the stocks, now."

"Yes ma'am, I-I will ma'am, but..."

"But what? Spit it out!"

Keeli shivered so hard her large teeth chattered. "W-th a-all due r-respect... Th-the m-man g-guarding the s-stocks, h-he scares me."

With an exasperated sigh, Sally pinched the bridge of her nose. "Oh for the Lord's sake, you mean Lee, don't you?"

"Y-yes ma'am."

"Well I can't say I blame you." Rolling her eyes, the overseers gestured with her gun for Keeli to follow her. "Come on then, let's go."

"Th-thank you ma'am."

"Ain't doing it for you." Sally's face cracked into a smile as Keeli stepped in front of her. "Lee's night started off cold and lonely, and I mean to make sure it stays that way."

===

Fray lay on her back, staring up at the ceiling. There was no clock in the barn, and the moon was covered with clouds, so there was no way of telling the time, but it had to be getting near midnight. She had tried for hours to sleep, but it just would not come.

With a heavy sigh, Fray turned onto her side, resting her head on the soft fur of her arms. All around Fray echoed the sounds of the other slaves sleeping, the sounds of quiet snoring interupted every once in a while by the clanking of chains, or a quiet whine or whimper sparked by a nightmare.

'She wouldn't... she wouldn't run away, would she?' Fray shook her head. 'No... no she wouldn't be that foolish. She'd never survive... she wouldn't get ten miles before something ate her, she knows that... She must know that...'

Fray's eyes darted to the ceiling as something shifting in the rafters disturbed a sleeping barn swallow. The bird fluttered around for a few moments before returning to its nest with an irritated chirp.

'Dammit Keeli, where are you?!'

Despite herself, Fray felt anger bubbling up in her chest, her claws digging into the straw. Fray had only been staked out once before, years ago, before the young Windhill had taken over. She couldn't even remember what it was that had gotten her stuck out there. What Fray did remember was the agony of being left out in the heat of the noon sun and the cold of the night for four days and nights, her ankles and wrists tied to a post in just such a way that she couldn't stand up straight, or sit down. Add to that the bugs, the rain, the mud, maddening thirst, gnawing hunger, and the humiliation of standing in one's own filth, Fray was surprised that she hadn't lost her mind.

The thought of going through that again made Fray's heart race. Thankfully the punishment had fallen out of favour once the young Windhill had taken over, but Luke was gone with Azee for goodness knew how long.

'If that damned rabbit gets me staked, I'll-' Fray took a deep breath. 'No... no it's fine... Keeli will be back. Unless she got hurt... by the Tyrant, what if she got hurt? Or killed? Or drowned! Or-'

As Fray's mind spun, a loud clatter erupted from the front of the barn, followed by a heavy clank. Moments later the door cracked open, casting a shaft of light across a row of sleeping forms. Keeli was pushed into the barn ahead of the young overseer that had threatened Fray earlier.

"Git a move on!" Lee barked, pushing Keeli again.

As Keeli started down the row, Fray raised herself up and gestured for her with a massive paw. With a look of supreme relief, Keeli ran over and dropped to her knees beside Fray.

"I'm so sorry," she whispered, tears glistening in her big eyes. "I got carried down stream, and then I saw some berries, and then I got lost, and then-"

"Shut yer yap," Lee snapped as he approached. He grabbed hold of a chain welded to the bar that ran the length of the barn, before roughly seizing the scruff of Keeli's neck. Keeli froze, staying as still as a statue as Lee locked the chain to the loop at the back of her collar. As soon as Lee released her, Keeli dropped to the floor.

Getting back to his feet, Lee brushed his hands off on his pants. "Now go to sleep you dumb animal, and don't ever pull this kinda shit again, or I'll have yer hide for a blanket!"

Keeli nodded hurriedly, curling up into a ball.

It took every scrap of control Fray had to keep from snarling. All around her she heard the low growls of the other slaves, too low for any human to hear, but more than loud enough for her sensitive ears. Dozens of pairs of eyes locked on the arrogant overseer, calculating, hunting, picking out vital areas. Fray could only imagine that, had the stupid boy known just how many claws and and teeth were bared against him in that moment, he would have pissed himself.

With a final disgusted scoff, Lee turned and marched out of the female barn, pausing to slam the door as hard as he could.

"That one may need to have an accident." A wolfish canine across the bar from Fray muttered.

"Maybe he could stumble into one of the balers." Another mumbled.

"Terrible waste of good cotton. He could get his shirt caught on one of the mill gears though."

"That's enough," Fray hissed. "That's dangerous talk. Just go to sleep, his time will come."

"I think we're forgetting who's really to blame here," A feline on one of the other rows growled as she sat up. "That bastard wouldn't have come in here if the damn rabbit had followed the rules!"

Keeli shivered in terror as a couple of other slaves made noises of agreement.

"Enough," Fray hissed, as loud as she dared, glaring across the aisle at the feline. "The smoothskins are the enemy, not any of us. You'd do well to remember that, Syn."

For a few moments, Syn locked eyes with Fray, her eyes shining in the darkness as her pupils dilated with anger. Her tail thrashed about as a low growl emerged from her throat.

Syn was a new arrival at the Ranch, having been captured by a cross-border raiding party into one of the free nations to the north. She was young, hot-blooded, and most dangerous of all, recklessly angry. She was covered in small scars, most still very fresh. Fray knew her type, Syn wanted a fight, any fight, to let off some of the pressure building up within her.

But Fray was older, wiser, and much, much larger. After a few tense moments, Syn broke eye contact and turned away, rolling over so her back was to Fray.

Fray sighed heavily as she too relaxed, before pulling Keeli into her arms.

"There you go." She whispered, gently stroking Keeli's shivering back. "Shhhhh, it's alright. You're alright."

"I'm sorry." Keeli whimpered.

"It's alright."

"No... no it's not... we're all going to die. Fray, I heard them, we're all going to die!"

"What are you talking about?" Fray asked, gripping Keeli's cheeks so she could look directly at her.

"W-When I w-was coming back, I h-heard C-Comb talking t-to Snyder! Order agents, two n-new Order A-agents! Th-they killed slaves in town!"

Icy fear shot through Fray's heart, but she managed to keep her voice calm. "It's okay, we're safe here. Even the Order won't dare interfere with the Windhills."

"C-Comb said h-he was going t-to report M-master Windhill and Azee." Tears flowed freely down Keeli's cheeks as she whimpered in terror. "T-they're going t-to k-kill Azee, then th-the rest of us!"

"Hey, hey, remember what Azee said? She has control of Master Windhill, he follows her orders now. And as for Comb... even he isn't stupid enough to betray Master Windhill."

"B-but what if h-he does?"

"Then he'll be dealt with."

"B-but-"

"Don't worry." Fray pulled Keeli close to her, the shivering lapine feeling almost comically small in her arms. "I will take care of it, okay. You just lay low and watch your back. And if Syn so much as looks at you wrong, you tell me, at once, okay?"

"I'm s-scared." Keeli's voice was muffled against Fray's fur. "I... I just want it to end."

Fray tightened her grip a little, gently stroking Keeli's hair. "Shhh, don't talk like that. Everything will be alright. Now, get some sleep, you've had a long day. Everything will be alright, I promise."

But as the terrified lapine drifted off, and the barn once more filled with the sounds of sleep, Fray couldn't help but wonder if it was Keeli she was trying to convince, or herself.