Disagreements
A little tale about an otter and a bear.
Ressix took one final glance at the bloodied paw on the ground, then broke into a hobbling run. Obviously, he wouldn't get far on one foot, but he had to try something-- and negotiation was out the window after last night's bungled raid. The snow swirled around him as he hobbled into the woods, looking for shelter-- or at least a walking stick...
No such luck, not here. And Kazak's thugs weren't far behind.
"Let 'im go!" The old boar-Kin shouted behind him. "Damn otter-Kin won't get far on one leg anyway."
As the other Kin gave up the hunt, Ressix took more time to find a solid branch and finally found a decent length of wood. At least he wouldn't need to walk on that stump of a paw anymore... Still, the snow was getting thicker and there wasn't much sun left in the sky. No water in sight, either.
Over the nearest hill Ressix saw some smoke rising, probably the happiest thing he'd seen all day. He crested the hill to find the ashes of a fire, and little else. There was no wood to burn set aside, and all that was nearby was waterlogged from the snowfall.
"Damn." Ressix said under his breath, looking around. "Would hate to prove Kazak right, but..."
"Who goes there?"
Ressix whirled around, then searched the area a bit more carefully...
A pile of leaves, much drier than the rest, suddenly exploded. Snow flew everywhere, and just before Ressix shielded his eyes, he saw the shadow of somebody-- and the glint of steel.
Within seconds there was a dagger at his throat, and an old bear-Kin clutching it.
"Wha--"
"I ask again. Who goes there? Speak or fall--" The bear-Kin looked down-- "Though it looks like you'll die without aid no matter what I do."
"M'name's Ressix, kin."
"Ressix?" The bear-Kin lowered the dagger. "Well, you're unarmed. What happened to yer footpaw?"
"Ran into some trouble with a friend of mine. We aren't friends no more."
"Sounds it." The bear-Kin said.
"What's your name, kin?" Ressix asked.
"Mak."
Mak turned around and began to rebuild the shelter of snow and leaves that he so recently destroyed, talking all the while.
"Lookin' for town, Ressix?"
"Yep. Need a doctor for the lost paw, probably."
"Follow the settin' sun from here, and you'll find town soon enough. How 'bout you help me out a bit, 'fore you leave?"
"With the shelter?" Ressix said, finally deciding to sit down. Blood still pumped out of his leg, which was still dirty from his earlier run.
"Yup. Help me out with it, rest for the night, and head out in the mornin'. Should go better than fighting the ferals in the night."
Ressix nodded, and started to help piling snow for the shelter. Hard work, sure, especially without two feet. But it was doable, and the two of them got the shelter done in due time.
There was a bump in the night. A snarl. Mak drew his dagger. There was a large form outside the shelter, made more menacing by the poor lighting.
"Stay here." Mak whispered, as he stood. The beast roared. Mak roared back. They circled each other in the crunching snow, and for an instant, there was silence.
Crunch. The sound of broken bone. Ressix clambered out of the shelter and ran, ran as fast as he could with his walking stick and his one old foot. He ran from the moon, from the bear and beast, from the trail of blood he'd left behind.
***
Ressix reclined in the old inn's chair, and looked back at the bandaged leg. It had been a week since the doctor looked at it, and a day since Ressix paid for it. A noble was robbed two days ago, which Ressix, in his mind, swore was coincidental. Of course, he knew it wasn't, but it's fun to lie, right?
The door of the old inn swung open, and a bear-Kin walked in with an arm covered in bandages, wearing the pelt of some feral beast. The bear-Kin looked over at Ressix, and looked surprised.
"Mak?"
"Ressix?"
"Why'd ye run off? Had the situation handled." Mak said, then patted his arm.
"What happened to the arm, then?" Ressix said.
"Ran into some trouble with a friend of mine. We aren't friends no more." The two of them smiled at each other as Mak sat down next to Ressik, each looking at their slighty broken bodies--
--and the only thing they could do is smile at each other, at their "disagreements", at the world.