Starbasin

Almost a half-turn of the Lady later, Rhizo grazed in the evening twilight. They had headed in a direction Eitan called West and that night were in a large field filled with grass and clover. Tasty plants. No, delicious plants. Rhizo was working on his wording.

Eitan had not managed to properly hunt, but time spent speaking predator’s languages lightened his mood. After a few options, they had decided to focus on a canine pidgin in case they ran into foxes or coyotes. The language came easy to Rhizome, one of the first things in his life that felt effortless. He had even picked up a bit of Mustelid from Eitan’s rantings.

Still, Rhizo kept thinking about Erebus’ statement that he would do something. Was that just Eitan’s difficulty hunting? There had to be something else. It’s not like Death could refuse to take prey when a predator ate them. Not that Rhizo was upset he wasn’t eaten, it simply felt a little too good to be true.

The weasel returned with a defeated look on his face. He grumbled, “I’m not talking like a rabbit, why am I still thinking like one?” It wasn’t an accusation, not this time, and he slumped on the ground next to Rhizo.

Rhizo frowned and slowly let the small clump of grass vanish into his mouth as he chewed. He didn’t want to make this an argument, and Eitan didn’t really want support either.

The rabbit broke the silence first, talking in Canine. “Where we go tomorrow?”

Even the language didn’t break Eitan’s mood. “I don’t know. Doesn’t matter. I can’t hunt anywhere. You could take me back to Brambledeep and I’d keep my promise.” He shivered despite the mid-spring warmth. “My mother said this would happen. Said I would lose my soul. Said not to talk to prey. But, you did not beg. It was just time with you.”

“You’re good animal.” Rhizome flicked his ears slowly. “Good, take care of others. Help others. Protect mother. Protect me.” He frowned. “Bad words. You are good. That is why you can’t kill.” Rhizome grunted, that last word was accidentally in Lapine.

Whatever reaction was expected, none came. They sat in silence as the twilight gave way to the proper darkness of night, lit only by the stars, as Lady Moon had yet to rise. Despite the lengthening shadows, one seemed darker than the rest. Rhizo sat up, and distinctly saw a shadow of a rabbit crossing the clearing. He swiveled his ears toward it and whispered, “You see that?”

Eitan turned around as the shadow bounded away from them. He flicked his tail in annoyance. “There’s nothing there, Rhizo. You jump at everything.”

“Follow.” Rhizo bounded after the shadow. It had to be Erebus.

Eitan hissed but did as instructed. “I give orders. Not prey.”

Rhizo didn’t slow down. He chased the shadow through the long grass. Even after the wind shifted and he caught the scent of wolf, he followed. Death was ahead of him, and he was not afraid. He bounded forward until he saw a jagged rock that broke the even field. He paused and sniffed; the wolf was close.

Eitan skittered to a halt next to him. The weasel slipped into Lapine, “What are you doing? The wolf will kill us both!”

A stamp went through the ground. From the direction of the rock and wolf. Despite all his instincts, Rhizome bolted forward. Maybe Death was here for whoever stamped, maybe something else, but that was where he needed to be.

Rhizo had never seen a wolf before. His mother had taught him the scent when one passed near Brambledeep the prior summer. She said they were large and stood the height of two rabbits. Rhizo assumed that meant the wolf was also standing. As he broke through the tall grass to confront the predator, he realized she meant two rabbits tall at the shoulder.

The wolf had his quarry pinned to the ground. a light furred rabbit with a small white tuft on his nose. For a moment, the predator looked at Rhizo and tilted his head. Ears almost curious as to what could possibly be the rabbit’s goal.

Terror gripped Rhizo. This was not something he could fight. Not with Eitan, not with the pinned rabbit. Not with the herbs he didn’t have, or the seer tricks he couldn’t use. His legs started to go numb, and his vision threatened to blur. Death had led him here, but it was supposed to be a boon, to help him.

“Don’t tell me you’re here to rescue my meal,” the wolf grumbled. “It’s been a long hunt; I don’t want to deal with a hero.”

Rhizome blinked. The canine language was a bit of a different dialect than what he had been learning, but it was clear, and any word he didn’t know, he managed to fill in. He responded, “Forgive me. But, that is my prey.” And silently cursed at not knowing the proper word for rabbit.

The wolf winced and sat down, keeping a paw on his captive. “What did you say?”

“The prey is mine.” His ears flicked nervously. What was he going to do? Still, the wolf was talking. Maybe he could figure out a plan before it was too late.

“Who taught you to speak as a canine?”

Eitan broke through the grass to stand beside Rhizo. The weasel reluctantly but defiantly got between them. “That’s not your concern.”

“Talker,” the wolf growled. “You dare teach prey to speak to predators? Isn’t it enough that you have destroyed your own soul? Do you have to endanger others?”

A weird idea came to Rhizo’s mind. The kind of incredibly stupid idea one might hear stories about. Something so outrageous it might actually work. Maybe he could act well enough to get the wolf to believe.

Rhizo cut off Eitan’s reply. “You don’t know?” He forced a laugh, a deep manic thing that broke whatever expectation the wolf might have had. “I am a seer! You speak my tongue. My friend speaks like I do.”

Eitan backed up and whispered very low into the rabbit’s ear, “What are you talking about?”

Rhizo cuffed the weasel. “Slave, you follow. He will follow as well.”

Some of the words were rare. Slave was from Eitan recounting his history in the canine pidgin. The whole phrase was from that story, spoken by Thistle as a ruse.

Curious, the wolf narrowed his eyes. He looked down as the rabbit under his paw, and looked back to Rhizo. “I’m not speaking as a rabbit.”

Rabbit. That was how one said that in canine. Now to mix in a few words from Eitan’s rants… “Yes! You speak as rabbit. And my friend, he thinks like a rabbit.”

The wolf looked concerned. “I’ve been up all day, and capturing this rabbit was really nice. A good meal that fell under my paw. Please, don’t ruin it.”

Rhizo confidently met the predator’s gaze. He thumbed his foot on the ground. “I show you! Slave…” He tried not to gulp. He needed something no sane weasel would do. He held out a forepaw. “My claws, show belly to my claws.”

The weasel stood, mouth open at Rhizome’s insanity. “Are you mad? In front of the wolf?”

Rhizo grunted. He hoped the wolf had no idea how seers worked. “I use seer chant. You will do what I say.” Rhizo took a breath. “Aie kagu nava elogo.”

Eitan blinked, then flopped over onto his back. “No! You can’t make me.” He thrashed slightly and shuddered. Slowly, he made a show of scooting up to Rhizome and exposing his belly to the rabbit. Rhizo lowered his forepaw to scritch the weasel lightly.

The wolf stared with jaw open. He shook his head. “That’s— That’s not a real chant.”

Rhizo looked at the wolf. “You think like a rabbit.” With an exaggerated slowness he chanted again, each word emphasized. “Aie. Kagu. Nava. Elogo.”

The wolf shivered and winced. Slowly he opened one eye. “It didn’t work.” He looked down at the rabbit under his paw. “Who should I eat first?”

The captive rabbit turned his head trying to expose his neck. In perfect Canine, he said, “Eat me. Spare them.”

Stunned, the wolf pulled his paw away from the rabbit like it had been bit. “No.” The wolf shook his head. “No. This isn’t happening.”

Rhizo recovered slightly faster than the wolf. He wasn’t sure if he could try the chant again, maybe he used the wrong word? “Of course. Elogo is weasel. For wolf, I say candor.” He took another breath.

“Aie.” The wolf was shaking, but the chant wasn’t enough.

“Kagu.” Rhizo tried not to falter. If he finished the chant, what would he do?

“Nava.” A pause filled the air. Would the wolf call his bluff?

In response, Eitan knocked Rhizo to the ground and pinned the rabbit. He shouted at the wolf, “Run! Run while you still can!”

That did it. The wolf turned around so fast he lost his balance and fell to the ground. “No! Help! No!” He scrambled to his feet and smacked his side on the rock as he took off running.

Eitan sat up and watched the wolf leave. He was the first to break the stunned silence. He slipped into Lapine, for the sake of the other rabbit. “I can’t believe that worked. We really should be dead.”

“I guess we’re all mad,” Rhizo observed. Part of him wanted to laugh. It had been an amazing trick, and he had thought of it. “I guess I’ll have something to tell him when we meet.”

“Now what?” Eitan looked at the cowering rabbit on the ground. “You’re safe now, even though I’m a weasel.”

“We need to get out of here before he figures out he was tricked.” Rhizo put a paw on the other rabbit’s shoulder and was greeted by a squeal.

“No!” The rabbit flattened himself onto the ground, ears tight to his body trying to push himself down by sheer fear. “I can’t survive. Visions are never wrong.”

Rhizo shook the rabbit lightly. What to say? Maybe if the vision was wrong, it had ignored him completely? Like with Stargazer. “Was I in the vision you had?”

The rabbit looked up. “N—No.”

“Then this is the wrong time to die.” Rhizo forced his best trickster grin. “Now, let’s get out of here. Is there any place that’s safe?”

The rabbit sniffed the air. One ear pointed toward Eitan. “The warren. But, the weasel.”

“Eitan’s not a danger,” Rhizo said with certainty. “I can always chant again if needed.”

Slowly the rabbit sniffed at Rhizo and Eitan. He whimpered, “What chant?”

“The one he used to scare off the wolf,” Eitan interrupted. “Can’t you speak Canine?”

The rabbit shook his head.

Eitan blinked and loomed close. “How did you know what to say?”

“It doesn’t matter.” Rhizo sighed. Being a leader was not what he wanted to do right now. “Get us someplace safe and we’ll work it out there.” The rabbit almost objected but Rhizo cut him off. “Live first, learn later.”