Page 21 of Theirs to Crave
Svixa screamed.
It was a scream of pain—choked off and replaced by the cry of warning and need. Revik leapt away. I flew through the trees, but it felt like a lifetime before the clearing spread before me.
Creaturesfilled the space. I couldn’t see Svixa, although I could hear her cry for help still.
I took in the scene in a glance, my spear in hand. Two large creatures—lacking fur or scales on their oddly shaped bodies and thin, rigid limbs—were battling with several smaller creatures. More children? A few could almost be Svestrix, but they stood on two legs instead of the tiny tails that extended behind them. The others had strange patches of fur slicked to their bodies, and no tails at all.
Shock stilled me. Several of the patchy creatures had engorged chests, a sign of recent birthing. Not children, then. But although I searched desperately, I saw no sign of kits or Svixa.
One of the large gray creatures stomped on the patchy body curled at its feet. I gripped my spear tighter, my muscles twitching with the need to protect the almost-child. I didn’t know the reason for this conflict, and I had to find Svixa.
The small creature cried out and fell to the side, exposing—Svixa! The patchy creature moved jerkily, clearly in pain and just as clearly no warrior. It rolled to wrap itself more completely around Svixa, taking the blow from the gray foot that stomped towards my sister’s daughter.
I didn’t need to see any more.
I sprung, spear raised, and landed on the enemy’s back. My lower claws dug in as I thrust, but my spear glanced off ofsomething and left only a small furrow across the thick gray hide.
Revik’s roar told me he’d joined the battle. It was joined by shocked cries and the agonized scream of the other enemy, but I didn’t turn my attention from the one I fought.
I dropped my spear and sank my claws deep, holding firm as it bucked and twisted beneath me. It reached back, swiping at me with one of its hands. I caught it in my mouth and bit down, hard. The creature’s blood was bitter, but its wail of pain was sweet.
It pulled the arm away and I let it, twisting up to bury my teeth in its neck instead. Acrid blood poured down my chest and was washed away by the rain, but I only clamped my jaws tighter. My teeth hit something hard—more like a plate than a bone—and broke through with a satisfying crunch.
The creature beneath me shrieked and flailed, but its head bounced limply, and blood poured from the wound I worried with my teeth. It stumbled, and I rode it to the ground, only pulling back to spit out the foul blood when it stopped pumping out of the still creature.
Revik was on his back beneath the other enemy, tearing at its underbelly with all four sets of claws. Some of the small creatures were helping, stabbing at it with sticks and pelting it with rocks. Others had fallen and lay on the ground beneath the pounding rain.
As I watched, Revik tore the second enemy open, ripping away a chunk of leathery gray flesh. He rolled to the side as it crashed to the ground, but not fast enough to avoid the torrent of blood and other things that soaked him. Thank the Spirits for the storm. If that mess dried in his fur, we’d be days picking it out.
The small creatures whooped, raising their weapons in celebration, but my attention was all for the one curled around Svixa. Neither had moved.
“Svixa!” I cried, bounding to them.
“L—Litha?” Her voice quavered, uncertain, but then she pushed at the body wrapped around her, crying my name.
The patchy creature jerked, twisting to crouch protectively in front of Svixa, arms outstretched, and small flat teeth bared. Approval rippled through me. Her eyes—dark and wide in a peculiar but lovely round face—met mine, and her face went slack. Beneath the strange garment slicked to her body by the rain, she was heavily engorged, and my concern for the missing kits grew.
Svixa reached a hand towards me, and the patchy one moved back, slowly, her dark gaze flicking from Svixa to me.
“I tried to go to the trees, Litha!” Svixa babbled as I dropped to my knees beside her. She struggled to sit, and I placed my hand on her chest, stilling her. “The big ones were hurting them, but when I tried to help, they hurt me, and I couldn’t climb!”
“Kshh, little one. You’re safe now. I have you. Stay still. Zaf will be here soon to help.” I pet her head, smoothing back her braids and rubbing her ears as I murmured soothingly. I scooted close and hummed as her breaths began to grow even. Her shoulder was misshapen, most likely out of place. And one of her legs was obviously broken, twisted and swollen below the knee.
But she was alive. I let my gratitude flow to the spirits, conscious all the time of many eyes on me. But the small creatures didn’t advance, only huddled together, watching, so I focused on Svixa.
A heavy weight settled next to us, and I looked up, meeting Revik’s feral eyes. He hovered, conflicted. The sky had paused in its relentless attack, and his fur was thick with oily green blood and chunkier bits that made my nose wrinkle with their caustic scent.
Svixa solved his hesitation, crying out and reaching for him. He lunged, wrapping us both in his arms and rumbling thanks into my fur.
I watched the small beings from under my lashes. I didn’t understand any of the quiet words they shared, but watching them care for each other confirmed that small and strange as they were—these were people, not creatures. The enemies had worn packs strapped to their bulky bodies, and the small ones went through them, growing visibly excited when they found knives.
My tail flicked, but they made no move our way. Instead, they used the knives to cut muzzle coverings from the Svestrix-like small ones. They left the body coverings that the patchy ones wore, and the ugly necklaces that weighed heavily around all of their necks. Strange.
“Svixa. What are the rules for exploring?” Revik asked, his voice stern and unyielding.
“Always tell someone before I go...” she dragged out, not meeting his eyes.
“And?”