End Ch. 3/Begin Ch. 4

[cog_nomen]

Consciousness assailed him with a wash of information, all of it unpleasant. Dull, throbbing pain in his right arm threatened to turn into sharp, screaming agony if he moved. His wrists were bound behind his back - it felt like rope rather than iron cuffs, but he couldn't be certain. Normally he'd have little issue slipping free, but the cold, wet tingle of his right hand fingers warned him against trying.

He still wasn't entirely sure what had happened, but his mind fuzzily broke down the events that had led him here. He'd almost had his prey, though he'd considered leaving when the man hadn't bolted at the first sign of the Thuss woman. He'd trusted in his initial instinct, and it hadn't been proved wrong. Unfortunately, it had neglected to warn him of the Thusswolv that had come from nowhere to rob him of his kill.

He remembered being pinned by it's massive weight, it's powerful jaws closing on his arm. Then, a hawk's scream before he'd passed out. He was fairly certain he was alive, so his next concern became gaugeing the extent of the damage to his arm. He shifted, discovering he had a corner at his back. He turned his head to peer over his shoulder, arching his back to bring his tied hands into view. Pain shocked through his shoulders and along his forearm, turning his vision white at the edges.

"I would keep still if you don't want a matching set of arms." A woman's voice interrupted his slow, measured counting as he tried to wait out the pain. He looked up to find the Thuss woman standing over him.

"You've tied me." He said, obviously. "What harm can I do by moving?"

"I don't trust you." Her hand seized the front of his shirt, which he noticed had suffered from the Thusswolv's attack even more so than his arm. The hunter was grateful that it hadn't been his stomach. "-You- sent me here, Fox. Why?"

A shake emphasized her point, though he would have told her anyway. He gasped involuntarily, and had to blink away stars before he could answer. "I had to be sure he was an alchemist." He explained, lowly. Though pained, his voice developed a wry twist. "I thought he would run from you if he was guilty. I was right."

"You -used- me," She hissed, flinging him away.

This time he was braced for the pain, and it was easier when he was ready. There was only sleight delay in his answer. "I thought you were a Hand of the Overmages," He ground out, keeping his voice as even as he could.

"I am." She said, crossing her arms, awaiting explanation.

"Well, I highly suspect that the Overmages would have asked you to render me aid if they had known there was an Alchemist still in this world."

Her expression turned furious. "Witch-hunter," She spat. Her hand lifted and from nowhere her companion seemed to appear on her fist, it's attention fixed on him attentively. "I do not do your bidding, and I don't take kindly to your trickery."

"Sit very still," She warned, cutting off his chance for a retort. "And make no sound or Harrier shall correct you."

The hawk fluttered to the ground at his feet, ferociously tiny. Ordinarily, the hunter would have laughed, but he did not want to think what it's piercing beak or raking claws could do to him with his hands tied in such a way. He sat still and kept his eyes and ears open.

The Thuss woman turned abruptly, and for the first time he noticed her other 'captive'. The Wolv was sitting quite still on the other side of the room, as if to escape her attention. For a moment they noticed each other, animal and human gazes locking in a challenge of wills that the hunter let himself lose. The Wolv wasn't tied.

"You." She growled. The Wolv's ears flicked backwards, and he dropped his gaze. "You could have done what you came for, if you weren't so stupid You let the alchemist escape because you were too busy wrestling with -him-?"

The creature didn't answer, but his eyes flickered over the hunter again. Sizing him up in the light, the hunter suspected he looked shamefully over-matched by the Thusswolv. He and the Wolv both knew better, his size deceptive in light of his skill. However, he looked like a very poor excuse for the wolv's delay.

"I've sworn not to kill him." The admission was barely audible, but the Thuss heard. For all the reward money ever collected on alchemist heads, the witch-hunter would not have traded places with the Wolv at that moment.

"You've -what-?" Her voice was growing quieter, and both the room's other occupants sensed the promise for violence in the tone.

"He made me give my vow in exchange for sparing me." The creature's voice kept even, his bravery admirable.

"That old fool got the better of you?" The hawk left it's vigil by the hunter's feet, it's wings carrying it back to her fingers in two powerful sweeps. "And you -protected- him?"

"It made us even." Came the answer, it sounded almost embarrassed.

"Even with an -alchemist!" As her voice rose, the hawk let out it's piercing cry in accompaniment. It's wings began to beat the air in aggitation. "You -must- become a blooded adult, Roan. I am rapidly tiring of your incompetence."

The hand not bearing her companion lashed out, striking the Wolv across the face with a force that seemed to surprise the creature, though it could not have hurt much.

"I am returning to the capital. You have disgraced yourself and your pack." With the outburst of violence past, she seemed to calm as the Thusswolv looked suitably humiliated. "I will choose another."

Without the threatening presence of the hawk, the hunter found himself at liberty to speak. Realizing the situation put his sympathies with the Wolv, despite the injuries the creature had given him. Though it wasn't the est time, he raised his voice to spare the Wolv.

"You can't hold me here." He interjected, gathering himself and standing up His left hand cupped his right behind his back, supporting the injury tenderly. "I've done nothing outside my rights. " Before he could continue, wings and sharp talons filled his vision. Sparing his features only by dropping the floor, the claws raked his scalp instead. Pain shocked through him from the drop, but did not threaten his consciousness. His knees felt bruised from their sudden impact with the pressed dirt floor.

"I told you to be silent." The Thuss raised her arm, and the hawk relented it's assault to return to her with tangles of the hunter's dark curls in it's tight grasp. It's attentive glare dared him to try rising again.

"You can't hold me for no reason." He pressed.

"You sent a Hand knowingly into danger," She began to list what she considered to be his crimes. "You've wasted my time, and you've denied Roan his rightful blooding." She meant the wolv.

"The alchemist is still alive!" He protested, beginning to anger at her eagerness to blame everyone but herself.

"Alive." She repeated. "But gone, as is my patience."

"That doesn't put him beyond reach." When the hunter had first spoken to her he'd found her spoiled and haughty. To his initial evaluation, he appended 'unreasonable'. "I can still track him if you stop wasting my time."

It was the wrong thing to say. The Thuss drew her knife, rather than sending her hawk. She set upon him with a speed he expected, though it surprised him anyway. He managed to move only minimally before the knife was nestled up under his chin, point tracing his pulse with clear intent.

"If you are so intent on making yourself useful in the world, prize-hunter, then I will make use of you."The point pushed up hard in the soft, dark flesh under his chin, and the Thuss smiled to herself. "You will find this alchemist you were so intent on having, and you will take Roan with you."

Before he could assent to the demand, she shushed him. "You will have him blooded and returned to Tura before the end of the Winterfall holidays, or I shall consider your promise broken."

"What," The hunter could feel the definition of the blade as he swallowed, it's point unrelenting. "Promise?"

"I see very few options for you to escape making me a promise, wealthseeker." Her tone had turned sweet, honeyed thorns. "All of them rude. I've already expressed how much I dislike the unmannerly."

He could not nod without breaking his own skin. "Alright." He agreed - with a spare glance to the Wolv. "If your husband agrees."

He found he had said the wrong thing again, and the Thuss let his blood. It was a small cut, but painful enough to encourage him to guard his tongue.

"He agrees." She said, without consulting the wolv. "He is not yet my husband."

The knife melted away from his throat and moved to saw through his bonds. Every motion spurred agony through his broken arm, and the woman was none to gentile. When his hands were freed, he carefully stretched his shoulders before bringing them into view. The damage was appreciable, his right arm skewed at a disturbing angle. It was torn in long rents from the bite that showed in angry, untreated colors. He suspected infection would rapidly set in.

"If you run," She said, standing. "I will let Harrier have your eyes."

He trusted that she could track him - even over sea or through the Wild - back to Rojan if necessary. Nodding his understanding, he pulled his injured arm into his lap, the pain in his fingertips a promising sign that he mignt not lose the arm with rapid and proper treatment.

"The Winterfall Holidays begin in three weeks and last for four days. Be in Tura by the last day of celebration." She warned.

She began to gather her belongings. As if in after thought, she paused to address him again. "What is your name, Fox?"

He had wondered if she intended to use endearing nicknames on him forever. Before he answered, he settled his left hand on his opposite wrist, feeling rope-burn. Dragged into this, he figured, and quite literally.

"Shatura" He answered. Gingerly he began to pull off his cloak. Gathering it up, he figured it would do for a sling, only he could not get it in place with only one properly functioning hand. Frustrated, he let the fabric drop to the floor.

"Clever." She said unsurprised. "And fitting. You have three weeks and four days."

Then she was gone, leaving Shatura to the Wolv.

---

Ch. 4

"Remember the very first Chimera we made?" Jessa reminisced, when they were settled comfortably at home, far away from the lives that had seemed to dominate their recent lives.

He remembered clearly the way it had looked on the table, bloody and bare as a newborn. "Yes," Cade answered simply. It seemed as if a long time had passed, instead of a scant two years.

"I thought we'd agreed not to talk about work while we were on vacation." Hes eyes traced her shape, the way it rounded in the middle, describing her pregnancy clearly now. "Stress isn't good for the baby."

"Oh, I'm just -remembering-, Cade." She laughed at his concern. "He grew well."

The chimera, once it's fur had all come in, had become a truly handsome creature. Jessa's skill had brought two separate creatures together so uniformly it was impossible to tell it from a work of nature.

Combining beast and bonded had yielded a sturdy creature that could go on two legs or faster on four. They were lean and wiry, with thick, sturdy limbs. Jessa had found that other animals could be included. The final pattern had encompassed wolf, dog and greatcats as well as human to form a creature with traits of all but a truly unique appearance. Each generation got smarter as Cade learned the design and working of thought, his ultimate plans also coming along.

"Boy or girl, do you think?" Jessa changed topics when silence answered her.

"Hmm." He speculated. "I'll have to run some tests." His tone was light and he shook his thoughts clear of work. It would come when it was ready, the final part of his design.