Sunrise for the Damned [sraes]

[sraes]

"You miss Hive?" Kade remarked with barely suppressed laughter, thinking about how tense Sid had been when the herd had ran them down in Roke. "I dunno, for some odd reason I don't think Hive would agree to cart us around like these two girls. Even if they do try to break their own necks." 


Based on his shared memories with the Hive that was definitely true. They'd have more likely trampled them then allowed themselves to be ridden. 


Most of the wood around them was dry enough for their purposes, despite the persistent dampness of the ground, so it didn't take too long for Kade to scrape together a fire and enough extra firewood to last them through the night. He even dragged out the tarp and laid it out for them to sit on rather than on the moist muddy grass under the trees. 


He poked at the burning logs with a branch until he was content that they'd well and truly caught, putting it down with the rest of the wood as Sid came up and settled in at his side. 


"Hey." Kade responded with a welcoming grin as he stretched his legs out towards the fire with a sigh. Riding had definitely been harder on his body than he would have predicted, the muscles in his legs and lower back ached with a warmth he generally only associated with a long workout. Although he supposed staying upright on a horse's back while it trotted along for hours was technically a workout of a sort. 


His attention was pulled back to Sid at the halting question though. 


"A... hook?" He questioned, utterly baffled. A glance down at his truncated limb - he could only assume that was the 'hand' Sid was referring to - didn't clear anything up. How was a hook supposed to help? "I'm not sure what you mean, Sid." A slight frown creased his face as he looked over at the blonde questioningly. 

 

[Coward]

What was he doing.


Sid's eyes had gone wide, and he resisted a sudden urge to bury his face in Kade's shoulder, abort this whole thing. The way the other man was looking at him, the glance down at the bright metal disc that ended his arm, all of it was like a weight sinking onto him. It felt wrong that Sid was the one getting upset. Kade was just confused, like he hadn't even noticed his hand getting cut off. 


Some baffling desire to struggle against the current made him keep saying words.


"Y'know, because." He couldn't quite look at him. One hand rose to touch him, then went to scratch at the back of his neck instead. "You could pick things up with it that way, and... um."


The dry crackle of the fire ate the fistful of down that he threw in. "You'd look like a tough bastard, probably. Even more than now."

 

[sraes]

Feeling even more baffled at the hesitant explanation, Kade felt his eyebrows drawing together in thought. Mostly trying to figure out how one would pick things up with a hook - stabbing them maybe? That didn't seem like it would be the most useful prosthetic he could get. 


Maybe it was an Inner Kingdom thing. 


This conversation had Kade conflicted - on the one hand the loss of his hand still ached in the back of his mind even when he didn't consciously think about it, but on the other Sid's uncomfortable remarks had near-incredulous laughter trying to bubble out of his throat despite everything. He tried to hold down the amusement. 


"I don't think I've ever needed help looking like a 'tough bastard'," Kade remarked as blankly as he could manage, having to bite down on his lower lip hard to keep from chuckling.


Still his shoulders shook against his restraint and after a second he snorted despite his best efforts.


Dam broken, he laughed quietly into his hand and leaned brazenly against Sid's shoulder as his amusement died down into something warm lodged in his chest. Grinning over at his lover, he nudged the man until Sid stopped avoiding his gaze. 


"I don't know about hooks, but I'm sure we can find something eventually." 

 

[Coward]

Joking or not? No, it was true. Probably Kade didn't need any more dangerous parts. Sid hoped the heat in his cheeks wasn't a stupid blush, this was getting ridiculous. "No argument here". His finger stabbed a sharp, black feather into the ground, twisting it.


The bland comment had almost got him looking back up, just to see if Kade was doing that serious thing. Instead he bit his lip, flung another handful of down into the fire. The stuff already there were flaming at the edges, sending up smooth coils of smoke. Stupid. He was almost done, the bird looking far thinner and more awkward without the glossy black coat.


It wasn't until Kade's vibrating shoulder crushed against him that he met his eyes. Abruptly the tension dissolved, faced with that grin. After a second he was giggling too in pure relief, slowly melting against him. The laughter faded as Kade's did, until he was just grinning.


"Yeah," he said, "maybe we can ask the frog people."  Without elaboration he turned further into him, tipped his head up until their lips met.  One hand wound through the collar of his shirt, while the other dangled the dead crow by one leg. Suddenly that was too awkward, and he made a frustrated sound against Kade's mouth before dropping the bird next to he fire.

 

[sraes]

Kade waited out Sid's reluctance, pleased when he finally looked up at him and relaxed, his laughter rising up to join Kade's. They leaned together comfortably for a moment as the sound petered away into the crackling of the fire. Warmth seemed to blanket the two of them.


It... surprised Kade just how easy it was to laugh - and about this of all things - when Sid was with him. The dull ache of loss he'd lived with for years was still there, and the newer losses as well, but with Sid leaning against him grinning like that it was as if those old hurts were healing.


More like tender scar tissue than open wounds. Painful still, but not debilitating. 


Shaking off his sentimental brooding, Kade pressed into Sid's kiss eagerly with a huff of laughter at the suggestion but couldn't bring himself to pull away long enough to respond. Instead he grinned into the kiss at the unrepentant disposal of the crow when it got in the archer's way and hauled Sid in closer, erasing the distance between them entirely. Any space was too much in his opinion. 


In the end it took several minutes before Kade could bring himself to break the kiss, and even then it was only to trail his lips down Sid's neck deliberately slow instead. 


"So," Kade murmured, his teasing grin pressed into Sid's skin. "What were you saying about the frog people again?" 

 

[Coward]

The snickering wasn't enough to dissuade him. Somehow it had worked out, maybe, or at least Kade wasn't doing the thing where he pretended not to be hurt. Sid made a pleased noise at the rush of warmth, eyes dropped closed so he could crush closer, now practically in his lap.


He had to gasp air by the time the kiss broke, pushed hair back out of his mouth. Only for as long as it took for Kade's lips to trace the side of his neck. Then he shivered once, let out a rushed breath. The question had his eyebrows rising, and he had to grope back to the lost thought of a few seconds ago. One hand slid around the back of the warrior's neck, but he didn't bother trying to stop him.


"Ah-" A pause while Kade's lips raked over  his collarbone - relentlessly distracting. "Webbed hands," he laughed, helpless. "If you're getting a new hand, you may as well..."


But he couldn't keep it up, just fit to Kade's shape better, pressed in to do some distraction of his own.

 

[sraes]

"Webbed?!" Kade huffed out on an incredulous laugh, nipping once at Sid's neck in reprimand. Then again just because. "As if I'm ever willingly in the water long enough to need-" 


The barely audible objection faded away into a pleased groan, train of thought utterly abandoned, as Sid lips found his skin. That's alright, he'd probably got his point across well enough. And if not he doubted he'd remember enough to care when his brain solidified once more anyway. 


Feeling his grin softening into something soppy, Kade abruptly tipped them both to the ground. 


"So, guess it's going to be sex before dinner. Again." He remarked, any attempt at sounding put out by the fact utterly failing. Not that he could complain as, at least half the time, it was his own fault when the cooking got delayed. They always got to it eventually. 


This time was no different, their brief interlude broken up after a time in order to build the fire back up and quiet the growling of stomachs before they turned in for the night. All so that they could wake up in the morning and so it all over again. The time they'd spent travelling together through Roke and the Wastes having given them a routine to slip into now that they were together again.


It was surprisingly comfortable, despite the addition of the horses and the necessary haste of reaching the Salt Flats as quickly as possible.

 

[Coward]

Yeah, it was good to be back to this. Sid snorted at the rake of teeth, trying not to instantly crumble. The break hadn't been long, but it had been far too long for his taste.


"Again? Hey -" Sid's attempt to look offended dissolved as he was dragged down. All he could do then was snicker against the side of Kade's neck, a sound that got softer as the warrior's arms wove around him. From the tangle of limbs he waved in the direction of the plucked crow. "I tried." 


-----


The road was like Dina had said. At most it made long, sweeping arcs like a river, immaculate, bearing them south. After the first couple of days Sid wasn't worried about Kade falling. In fact, it was unfair how coordinated the bastard was. Meanwhile his own mare had become steadily more enraged at losing the fun and excitement of the slave trade. Her new game was to find low-hanging branches to dash under, and ditches to run into. Out of the two of them Sid thought he was more likely to die from some horse-related incident.


Still, he was constantly smiling at the extra speed, and not just because of the stolen mages. He hit more posts and lost some arrows, until something clicked. When he finally shot a possum at a near gallop it was hard not to thrust it at Kade, like a kid showing a new drawing.


Alright, maybe he did hold it up, once. 


They were still riding on the shimmering pavement when the trees ended. The horizon turned to smooth, glossy water, broken by weedy hummocks. Even then, the road didn't end, it only dove into the marsh, swallowed by silt and leaves. On the narrow bank there was something that could have been called a village further down - a cluster of reed-thatched shacks mounted on stilts, leaning like herons standing over the water. At the end of the road, a larger building had long green banners floating from the top, lazily swaying in the cold breeze. A sign hanging in the gap below the high deck: BEER painting in huge, green letters. It was barely mid-day, but the tavern was already loud. A group of ancient women were playing dominoes on the deck, and glanced up, blinking rheumy eyes.


Sid reined in his horse, which was harder than it should have been. The mare pawed anxiously at the asphalt, champing in fury as she tried to skitter out into the marsh.


He stood in his stirrups, gave Kade the most earnest look he could manage. "Should we ask BEER if they've seen a bunch of kids?"

 

[sraes]

After several days of - rather reluctantly - riding horseback, Kade and his mare had come to something of an understanding. Namely that she didn't drop him on his ass and in return he tried not to pull at her mane whenever she moved at anything faster than a walk. It wasn't much but it seemed to be working for them. At least insofar as Kade was starting to relax during the long rides, more confident in his seat. 


He was still fervently grateful that it was Sid stuck with the wilder of the two horses rather than himself. 


As much as Sid liked to complain that she was trying to toss him off in as interesting a way as possible, it seemed to him that the archer was enjoying the challenge almost as much as the mare was. 


By the time the flat empty road hemmed in by thinning trees gave way to wide, flat stretches of marshy ground Kade thought he'd rather gotten the hang of the whole 'moving with the horse instead of against her' thing. He doubted he'd ever be quite as comfortable with the situation as, say, Sid - there was no chance of Kade trying to stand up in the saddle certainly - but feeling less sore at the end of the day was nice. 


Surveying their surrounding, the warrior had to bite back a sigh at the... wetness. 


Not that he'd expected anything less after the times he'd been through this barony before, but hope sprung eternal. Camping out on the cold, wet ground was going to be absolutely miserable. Their tarp was just not going to cut it. 


"Huh?" Tugged out of his displeasure at the question, Kade quickly followed Sid's line of sight to the building and - afterwards - the sign.


A grin tugged his lips up at the obviously aptly named tavern - if the boisterous crowd they could hear was anything to go by - but he ducked his head to hide it as the elderly women gave him suspicious looks from their little huddle. 


"Sounds like a good idea. The group who took Kip didn't seem to have tried to cover their tracks at all-" not surprising given who they worked for "-so there's a good chance someone could point us in the right direction." Smile somewhat subdued at the reminder of why they were here, Kade nudged his mare closer to the tavern and made to dismount. 


While still not the most graceful at it, he managed to land on his feet this time so it was an improvement. 

 

[Coward]

Kade's expression got him curious. He followed the warriors eyes up to the meet the narrowed gazes of the women, snorted in surprise before making himself suddenly busy with his reins.


"Mf, not too subtle" he agreed, swinging down from his horse. "... in fact, kind of stupidly unsubtle?"


His idle hand went back over his arrows, and he chewed over that thought again. Something he'd been considering for a few days - that there was nothing that would create unrest faster than stealing children. If Sid had been the tyrant he would have at least made the soldiers dress like normal slavers. But, maybe Ysanus was just that confident of his power?



They left the horses hitched to the low struts of the tavern's pylons, browsing at reeds and dense moss. Tramping up the stairs, Sid studiously avoided the inspecting eyes of the deck women before pushing open the door. A wave of tavern hit him - sound, darkness, the smell of fry-oil and fish, sweat and stale beer. There were no candles, so it took a second to adjust from the grey glare outside. The whole place lit by only a couple of windows and spears of daylight from the rust-holes in the ceiling. As they walked in what felt like a hundred eyes fixed on their unfamiliar faces. Noise faltered as a nearby argument slowed.


Sid leaned into Kade for a second, blinked. Wow.


By the time they'd reached bar the clamour had mostly returned, though the itchy feeling of eyes on his back stayed. The barkeep was a middle-aged man shaped like brick. Seeing them his slab-like lips up in a jovial grin, and he leaned over to thunk down two mugs of beer.


"Well now,"  he said, "mercenaries is it?"  A callused hand waved off the rest of the tavern dismissively. "Don't you mind them, they're a sorry paranoid lot these days. What else can I get ya? Whitebait or cockles."


Sid gazed longingly at a huge basket of fried fishes behind the counter, then shook himself. "News, maybe."

 

[sraes]

"Yeah, you'd think they'd be more concerned about stealing kids away right out from under the villagers' noses." Kade sighed, keeping his voice lowered so it didn't carry over to the old women eyeing the two of them. 


Then again how long had this little operation of Ysanus' been going on? Kade had certainly never heard of the God-King stealing away kids before now so either it was a new development or it wasn't and the Whitecoats were just getting arrogant about having no opposition. 


He wasn't sure which one worried him more. 


Tying his mare's reins to the hitching post alongside Sid's - the movements slow but sure - Kade eyed the resultant hitch with satisfaction. He'd been watching Sid whenever the archer had done it over the last few days and practiced a bit himself. It wasn't the prettiest of knots but he was at least confident it would keep his horse in place while they went inside; provided no one came over and tugged on the trailing ends of course. 


Patting the mare's neck as he passed by, Kade caught up to Sid in a few long strides just as the man reached the porch. Seeing the old ladies eyes still following them rather than their game he flashed them a grin before pressing forward through the doorway into... a frankly unnerving lull in sound. 

New faces in the Outer Kingdom were always noted, wariness wasn't any kind of surprise to the mercenary. They were two well armed strangers after all. This was something a little more pointed than the typical caution bestowed on newcomers though and he felt a slight frown wanting to form as he wondered if maybe the Whitecoats had come through this way after all. Or if there was a little bed in this village that was newly empty. 


The barkeep's boisterous greeting dragged him out of his thoughts and he returned the man's grin with one of his own, settling in at the bar at Sid's side. 


"News," he agreed with Sid and pointedly set a few coins on the wooden bar between the three of them. "We're looking for some kids, might've been though here recently. Some of the whitetail would be nice too, though." 

 

[Coward]

Sid had given up resisting, took up the mug for a long pull of beer. They had been riding all day. When Kade asked for some of the fish he had to duck behind the rim to hide an embarrassingly grateful smile, eyes flickering sideways. The air was thick with the smell of fry oil, but he wouldn't have been the one to hold them up by asking.


The barkeep's face had gone blank at the words, though. He scraped their coin off into his palm, made himself busy for a moment lifting steaming fish out of a fry tray. "Kids..."  He sucked his teeth, finally answered. "Listen, do me a favour and don't go around asking that."


"So you know what we're talking about." Sid leaned forward, and the man's dour gaze turned on him.


"Hrrm. Those white-eye priests came through two days ago, took Sesna's little girl."


Sid's hands froze on the mug. Priests. Abruptly his mouth was dry, despite the beer. This whole time he'd been imagining whitecoats with a wagon, a bunch of green kids doing dirty work. Now that picture had abruptly folded, replaced by the wail of chimera, the dead eyes of the Seer's Missionaries.


Meanwhile the barkeeps congeniality had faded further. The slab-like lips pursed, eyes roaming up and down. "You're not with them, are you? Inlander?"


Sid's attention snapped back, quick enough for him to bristle like a startled cat. "D- no. Definitely not." He looked to Kade, helpless.

 

[sraes]

Kade waited quietly as the barkeep took the coin with a distinct air of not wanting to respond to their questioning - he had a sinking feeling that he was right about the Whitecoats having come through here for business recently. 


The big man's discouragement only cemented the feeling further, he wasn't even surprised when the barkeep finally broke and admitted to the village missing a little girl. What did catch his attention was the mention of priests though. That was... definitely not what they'd come here expecting to find. 


Thinking back to his brief jaunt through the Inner Kingdom Kade tried to remember if he'd seen any of Ysanus' priests himself. It was highly probable that he had, at the very least during that massive ceremony where he'd met Sid for the first time, but if priests had been there he hadn't noticed. Then again he'd been a bit preoccupied by the gorgeous blonde man pointing arrows at his face so he supposed he could be forgiven for his distraction. 


Priests probably weren't trained to fight, though, so maybe that would make getting the kids back easier?


Somehow he didn't think they'd get that lucky. 


Any further line of questioning cut off by the barkeep's sudden uptick in hostility, Kade straightening in offense at the implication that they might be child-stealing Whitecoats. Although he supposed he understood the man's conclusion - despite a few years in the Outer Kingdom it was hard to mistake Sid for anything but Inland get. 


"No, we're not." Subtly pressing his shoulder into Sid's he narrowed dark eyes at the man, smile growing teeth. "Just the opposite in fact. Now if you wouldn't mind telling us which way they went?" 

 

[Coward]

The slight pressure against his side set him right. Blue eyes flicked sideways, grateful. Now that the first, startled panic was over he was slowly prickling with anger. Under the counter his hands knotted in the bottom of his shirt to keep from touching his arrows. It wasn't as if he had an eye drawn on his face, after all, or was dangling some poor outlander kid by the ankles. And anyway, he hadn't thought his accent was still that obvious. Suddenly the eyes of the room felt stronger on his back.


The barkeep had completely stopped looking at him though, focused uneasily on Kade's smile. A cup full of vinegar sloshed over their fish, before he slid it carefully across the wood towards them. The fresh fish smell clashed with sour beer and close bodies. Blank silver eyes stared up from the basket, crusted over with batter.


"The opposite, is it?" The man scratched the back of his neck, hesitating. Finally he coughed wetly, spat into a pot behind the bar. "They went to Rabbit Island, least, that's what Margit heard. She was smashed, though, so take it with a grain of salt."


For a second it looked like they were dismissed, the man half-turning. Then he turned, voice low."You're going after them? Two of you?" His gaze flit briefly to the blunt end of Kade's arm, back up. "Boys I don't think so, much as I'd like that. That's sacred ground, anyway - the Wesh'll gut you if those inland fuckers don't."

 

[sraes]

Kade could feel the thread of tension seeping from Sid through their shoulders and while he felt a touch of sympathetic anger on his behalf castigating the barkeep would only serve in clamming up their most promising source of information. So instead of outright remarking on the previous accusation he merely leaned more overtly into the pressure against his shoulder while holding the man's eyes. 


Generally his effort was put into not appearing overly threatening - to mixed success - but Kade had no compunctions about a bit of intimidation when it was useful. 


It appeared to have worked - or, at the very least, not hindered them - as the barkeep picked over their words and seemed to come to a decision to answer their questions. 


"Rabbit Island?" Kade probed further, fingers breaking off a flaky morsel of fish to pop into his mouth. Sacred? A questioning lift of his eyebrows implored silently even as he chewed and washed the bite down. As he'd told Sid before the few times he'd been to Salt Flats he'd never had cause to come in contact with the frog people, much less learn where they holed up - or what, exactly, they'd consider 'sacred'. 


Still, if that was where the kids were being taken then that was where they'd follow. 

 

[Coward]

Sid didn't react much, outwardly, but under the bar his fingers uncurled as he leaned into Kade's solidity. What finally killed the tension it was the fish, though. As soon as Kade had broken a piece Sid snapped off the tail himself, crunching the fin between his teeth. The smell of hot oil filled his haed.


The man gave them both a long, long look. "South-west across the marsh," he said, finally, and blew a hard sigh through his nose. "About a half-day on those ponies, if you don't break their legs in a hole."


"Listen, take something to give them. They like booze, so maybe that'll do. When you get there, do not -" he jabbed a finger at Sid "- shoot any damn rabbits. Especially not the Rabbit Mother."


Sid had slowed in chewing at the accusation, and now his eyes narrowed, annoyed at what seemed like deliberate vagueness. A the same time, this seemed like something he wanted to hear about. He gulped his mouthful, wincing as small bones scraped down his throat. "Rabbit Mother?"


"Eh." The man snorted. "Hard to describe... you'll know her when you see her. Just don't touch her and be polite to the Wesh. And if they torture you, you didn't get any of this from me."

 

[sraes]

Finally feeling the tension in the air disperse a bit Kade relaxed his hawk-like watch on the barkeep and turned his attention more fully on the food in front of him instead, though he still kept a ear on the man's instructions. Southwest, simple enough. 


Even if he wasn't one-hundred percent certain of his ability to dodge any potential holes. He'd leave that bit up to his mare. 


"Rabbit mother?" Kade blinked, words almost echoing Sid's. Not that the man's explanation helped dampen that confusion much, but after all the weird shit they'd run into it probably wasn't anything to worry about. Could a rabbit be more difficult to deal with than a giant centipede?


Well, it looked like they were going to get the chance to find out one way or another.


"Alright," Kade grinned pleasantly, seemingly not bothered by the possibility of torture in their near future. He did dig out a few more coins to lay out on the table, eyeing a still-full bottle tucked away behind the counter. If they were going to bring an offering might as well get it now - who knew if they'd come across any other villages before reaching this Wesh island. 


Speaking of which, "How exactly are we going to know when we're in the right place?" Polishing off the last of his fish Kade sat back with a content sigh. "I'm assuming this 'island' isn't an actual island, right?" Though he supposed it could be, he wasn't any kind of expert on the topography in this area after all. Still he thought he would have heard about a large enough water source to hold an island if there was one in these marshy lands.

 

[Coward]

The fish was good, disappearing rapidly even as Sid listened earnestly to the barkeep. From behind the rim of his mug he glanced at Kade, almost smiled at 'alright'. 


By contrast the barkeep seemed almost put out, glancing around in confusion. "More like a hill," he answered, hesitant. "You'll know when you start tripping over rabbits, or when one of the bog-folk puts a spear through your neck." The man grimaced. He was already pulling a beer for someone waving over their shoulders, still focused on the pair. "Really, have I not talked you out of this, yet?"


"Definitely not." Sid grinned, mumbling through a mouthful of fish. Food, Kade and the idea of Rabbit Mother had wiped the tension away like it had never existed. He gulped, eyes wide. "Keep going, though, I like your style."


The man snorted, scratched at the back of his thick neck. "Well, those priests were some scary bastards as well, I don't mind saying." The man's face went blank, looking down at Kade's coin on the bar. Finally he reached across, but rather than taking them he slid them back towards Kade and turned. A bottle of honey-coloured liquor thumped down in front of them a second later. "If you get Kitty back, you tell her that her mum's waiting. We should have tried... but."  He made a vague gesture: That's how things are.

 

[sraes]

Kade bit back a snicker at the man unenthusiastic explanation and even more displeased attempt to put them off their course. Rabbits and spears weren't going to be enough, he should have gone with something scarier. Like roaches. 


"Sounds fun," The warrior agreed, nodding his head along Sid's coaxing. 


"How many priests were here? Was there anyone else with them?" Kade asked, tilting a bit closer as if he were trying to draw the information out through sheer force of will. He tapped his fingers on the coins in front of him with a hint of trepidation before slipping them back with the rest of their money - not about to pass up the free 'gift' when coin was always too scarce.


He understood where the gesture was coming from even if he didn't like it. It wasn't often that an Outlander would put themselves in the life of fire, especially from Ysanus' people, over someone else. Not if they valued living. Putting survival first was a useful trait out in the regions beyond the Inner Kingdom but it was all too often a brutal one as well. 


Kade had never been able to hold himself back like that though.


"We'll tell her." He merely confirmed, slipping the bottle away as well. There was no censure in his tone, only blankness that belied a certain bone-deep weariness at circumstances he couldn't change even if they could rescue these specific kids. There would always be more. Abruptly tired of this conversation - surely they had all the information they needed for now - he glanced sideways towards Sid. "Should we get in a few more hours of riding before we lose the sun?" 

 

[Coward]

The barkeep nodded, before finally giving up to the clamour behind the pair - people annoyed at the pace of their beer.


The feel of eyes on his back still hadn’t faded, but Sid had adjusted at some point. Adjusted to the painful Outer Kingdom conversation, as well - though he suddenly wanted another few beers. At Kade’s comment he looked up again, met dark eyes that were far too blank.


“Mff,” he agreed, gulping the last of their fish.


On the way out he slid a hand across the warrior’s shoulders as he crossed to his horse,


-----


Rabbit Island was as obvious as the barkeep had said.


It was less than an hour after dawn, and the puddles made a surreal mirror to towers of grey cloud, thin fog. Around them the silence was palpable - no wind, no life except the suck of hooves and the horses hard breathing. Even walking in this was rough. Eventually they’d seen a long stretch of shrubs, a slight hill, and since it was the closest they’d come they veered towards it.


When they hit solid ground his horse staggered, startled by the good footing. Sid looked down to see thick grass and reeds.


And - with a shudder of realisation - rabbits.


The were as still as everything else, like a living carpet under the scrub. Glassy eyes staring up at nothing. All of them mutants, but worse than normal as well. Their hopelessly twisted, soft bodies sprawled in the grass. Sid wouldn’t have known some were rabbits at all if not for the rest- missing eyes, ears. Too few or many parts. Sharp teeth, Their damp-furred limbs flinched as he reined the mare in, but either they couldn’t run or wouldn’t.


His horse blew a high whinny, eyes rolling. Sid meanwhile just stared, struggling to hold her. At the same time his own skin was crawling, and his knuckles were slowly going white where they curled around his bow.


Don’t shoot rabbits.


Kade had been just behind him, and as he drew level Sid turned to him, gave him an agonised look like ‘please explain this bullshit,’ made an uncertain sound.