Chapter 12: The Lost SongsThe world, which had been a terrifying blur of illusions and sorrow, solidified into the raw, undeniable reality of her brother’s embrace. Amber clung to him, her paws digging into the thick fur of his back, burying her face against his chest. The slow, steady beat of his heart beneath her ear was a rhythm she hadn’t heard in nearly a decade, a grounding anchor in the swirling chaos of her emotions. Tears, hot and unbidden, streamed down her muzzle, soaking into his fur. He was real. He was here. And he was holding her.
Breezy, for his part, held her just as tightly. He paused, his gaze distant, remembering.
powerful frame a solid, unyielding comfort. His gravely chuckle rumbled against her, a sound that was both utterly new and achingly familiar. He didn't speak, didn't demand expnations, simply let her cling, letting the years of unspoken grief and fear pour out of her. The oppressive sorrow of the Gde of Fading Echoes, which had clung to Amber like a shroud, seemed to recede, pushed back by the sheer, overwhelming presence of her brother. A quiet pocket of calm settled around them, a small, safe haven in the heart of the Thicket.
After what felt like an eternity, but was likely only moments, Amber pulled back, her eyes still swimming with tears, but a fragile smile touching her lips. She still clutched the shimmering Lumina Tear in one paw. Breezy’s gaze fell upon it, his golden eyes narrowing slightly. “Why do you have that, Amber? Why are you here?” he rumbled, voice low. She felt the low growl deep in his chest.
Amber hesitated, then expined, her voice was still a little raw. “I was sent here on a quest for a fairy queen named ‘The Dame of Desires.’ To pay back a debt for Bel-, one of their knights for saving me.” Breezy simply nodded, his expression unreadable in the darkened gde. His head turned around as if to reassess their immediate surroundings. “I could ask the same of you…but I think I have an idea…” Amber said with a hint of defensiveness in her voice.
“I see…I have more questions, but this is hardly the pce. You look worn to the bone, Little River. Can you walk? My wagon isn’t very far.” With a silent motion Breezy points his eyes towards a gap in the wood line, keeping his arms around his sister. "I’ll say more when I’m confident we are alone. Never assume." He offered his rge, calloused paw, not as a command, but as a genuine invitation for comfort and safety. She took it, her small paw dwarfed by his, and let him lead her through a less treacherous part of the Thicket.
As they strode through the open field, his eyes scanning continuously, a stern and serious mask fell over his face. The low growl intensified, audible now from a short distance. She could see his shoulder out, cws gleaming, even his tail was a little puffed out. As they walked through the dry and dying grass, it seemed as if fear had no hold over him. He was more the looming shadow yelling before he realized who she was. Watching her Big Brother looking scary to keep the bad things away made Amber smile in a way she thought she forgot.
Breezy led his sister to the outer edge of the Gde of Forgotten Echoes. Amber stopped to take one look back at the tree next to the roiling ke, but is quickly tugged along. The oppressive feeling of dread and despair began to lessen the further they got down this path - one Amber had become accustomed to over her time in these cursed woods. She felt the air fill her lungs more fully, and her shoulders were able to rex after the feeling of drowning in danger was so constant she became numb to it. The light itself seemed to return to the permanent twilight of the Ani'cora, gently lit by the bioluminescence of alien flora. The glowing flora seemed to part for Breezy, the predatory sounds of the forest muted in his presence.
After a short walk, a sturdy, well-hidden wagon came into view, nestled deep within a thicket of ancient, gnarled trees. It was old, its wood weathered and scarred, but well-maintained, with thick canvas covering its top. A subtle, almost imperceptible magical aura emanated from the wagon itself, coming from the glowing runes drawn across every piece of sacred wood. A faint shimmer that seemed to push back the encroaching darkness of the Thicket, creating a small bubble of retive normalcy. A small, smokeless fire glowed faintly nearby, casting dancing shadows.
Amber’s eyes fell to the rge ram-like creature grazing peacefully nearby, unyoked and unharnessed; the beast of burden pulling Breezy's wagon. It was an old animal, deeply fey, somewhat horse-like but also like a shaggy ram with six legs. Its long, thick hair was braided with bits of moss and dried flowers, giving it an almost yak-like appearance, and it moved with the ancient, unhurried temperament of a creature that had seen many seasons. It nibbled at bits of grass and fungus, scooping up the occasional sparkling granule of pollen that falls from the massive purple bloom. “Oy, Colonel. I want to introduce you to someone”. Breezy shouts across the clearing. The wild man looked down at Amber as the rge creature perks its head up, peering with 4 eyes, each of a different color, two each at the two Lynanths approaching it.
Amber couldn’t help but jump a bit when the creature spoke up in a booming, boisterous voice, “Huzzah, Master Song! And who is this splendid specimen accompanying you? A new comrade to whisk from this gloomy pce on our grand expedition?” It trotted forward to nuzzle against Breezy for a moment before 3 of its eyes addressed Amber. Grumbles took a step forward, its nose inches from her small torso. She reached out and gave it a gentle pet along its muzzle. “Hello there young dy, most kind of you.” The beast of burden leaned into her hand, presenting its head in almost a bow before returning to full attention upon its master. “Old boy, a married man such as yourself traveling with such an unaccompanied woman alone. Undignified, I say! Grumbles himself has no qualms about reporting the full, unvarnished truth of our journeys to Mistress Song!”
“Really funny, Grumbles. Cut it out.” The burly man steps forward and touches the old ram on its snout, giving it a quick pet. “Colonel Grumbles, meet my Sister, Amber.” Pulling back he motions to Amber next to him, “Back from the dead it seems.” She took a step forward and extended her paw towards his nose as her brother had done. The huge creature inhaled, putting its wet nose all over her fuzzy hand as it took in the aroma of her character. Eyes fixated on her extended arm as if in deep analysis before a single eye turned up toward her, “You don’t have the smell of death on you, and you haven't cursed once yet! Are you sure you’re reted?” The small barmaid couldn’t help but snicker a bit, her pink nose wrinkling in amusement while Breezy’s bristled in annoyance.
“Pretty sure, it’s been almost 10 years. Can you please help us get out of here Colonel? I don't know my way around like you two Mr. Grumbles. Do you prefer your title, Colonel?” The beast stomps his foot in joy and lets out a big happy huff from his nose as he nods his head.
“Colonel, if you please, Grumbles is something more your brother calls me when I bemoan his more dubious actions on our grand expedition. Lady Song, welcome aboard. So polite, you must have attended a finishing school.” Lady Song? Not even the Fairies called me that. “But yes, my Lady, rest within the carriage we will find safer harbor by my mighty stride in due time!” The creature trundles over to the nearby bridle, trying to get itself into position to pull the covered wagon.
Breezy immediately began to climb on top and into position, taking hold of the reins. “Hop inside, I’ll be up in the Driver’s seat. We can catch up once we’re clear.”. Amber headed around back and opened the tch to the carriage. Her eyes looked at his wide-shouldered frame as her brother hooked the Colonel into his harness. “Hey, Easy?” using her nickname for him from the st time they saw each other as children. She held the Lumina Tear close to her chest, it gently shining as His stare meets Hers, “I missed you.”
“You too, Little River” He said with a tough smile, that stark mask already slipping on as he puts on his outward face. With that she lowered her head and entered the carriage of the wagon, soon feeling it take off into motion.
Inside, the wagon was surprisingly cozy. It smelled of pine, dry herbs, and a faint, comforting woodsmoke. Amber's eyes, still adjusting to the dimness, immediately darted around, taking in the details. A small, braided bracelet, woven from dried grass and tiny, polished river stones, hung from a hook near the window. In a small, unadorned cy pot on a shelf near the back, a single, vibrant flower, impossibly red, was perpetually in bloom, defying the Thicket's gloom. What mainly pulled her attention as the wagon chugged along was several crude, colorful drawings that were all over the space, depicting fantastical creatures and beautiful flowers. But the simple drawing of stick figures of a family brought a genuine tear to Amber’s eyes. She reached her paw out to trace it, to see the big grey one that had to be her brother next to a slender orange feline figure, beneath them two little ones of mixed shades of light and dark.
She did her best to fight the fatigue, but this space was dark, and warm, and the gentle bump of the road was rocking her back and forth. Amber's eyes fixated on all the little drawings but could not fight the tiredness anymore. Reaching out to a nearby quilt, she wrapped herself in its flower-scented bliss. Realizing the st time she had closed her eyes was a day and a half ago in her empty apartment. She yawned, letting the feeling wash over her with each rhythmic bump of the wheels on the uneven road. Closing her eyes into a dreamless sleep, the weight of days of being on the run finally catching up to her.
-
The next morning, Amber woke to the gentle scent of woodsmoke and something savory, a stark contrast to the cloying perfume of the Thicket or the stale air of Valienta. The wagon was still, and the light filtering through the canvas was softer, diffused. She stretched, luxuriating in the soft furs, feeling more rested than she had in years. The lingering ache from her wound was a dull throb, almost an afterthought.
She slipped out of the wagon, her paws finding the cool, damp earth beneath them. The clearing they were in was different, bathed in a muted, ethereal light that spoke of a safer, less hostile part of the Ani'cora. Breezy was crouched by a small, smokeless fire, stirring a pot, the savory aroma emanating from it making her stomach rumble. A thin wisp of smoke curled from a pipe clutched in his other hand, its scent sweet and earthy – fadeleaf. Colonel Grumbles was nearby, a massive, shaggy mountain of an Aether-Ram, snoring softly, his six legs sprawled out in peaceful slumber, a faint magical shimmer still clinging to his braids.
"Morning, Brother," Amber purred, her voice still a little husky from sleep, a genuine smile touching her lips. The sight of her brother, calm and competent, and the peaceful, sleeping Grumbles, filled her with a quiet sense of contentment.
Breezy gnced up, his golden eyes meeting hers, a rare, soft smile on his gruff face. "Morning, Little Sis. Slept well?" He gestured to the pot. "Porridge is almost ready. Help yourself." Just as sleep had caught up with her the night before, so too did her hunger. It was one of her earliest bodily signals she had learned to ignore, normally reminding herself to eat. But seeing the bubbling pot of oats and dried fruits made her salivate, licking her lips in anticipation. A simple bowl felt like holding the sun in her hand, taking bits of warmth deep into her core. As they ate, the simple, nourishing meal a grounding presence, Amber felt a comfortable silence settle between them. She watched Breezy, his movements economical, his gaze occasionally drifting to the surrounding woods, always vigint, yet rexed.
Breezy finally said, breaking the silence. “How did you survive the attack?”. Amber reeled a bit from the emotional arrow to her heart. He was as blunt as in her memories.
“W-well, I got scooped up by some caravan passing by that came to see what the commotion was at the house. They saw me…changing and assumed I was the cause. Hauled me off to ‘fix’ me.” Breezy’s face remained as stoic as Beldonna’s, but with far less empathy written across his grey muzzle. He took a long drag of his pipe and leaned back to listen with a nod. “Well, it took me a while to slip them, and even longer to find my way back to Valienta. Ever since I’ve been eking by on scraps and slinging piss water to drunkards, hoping for extra tips from passing merchants or adventurers."
When Amber finished her story, the gde was silent for a long moment, save for the gentle hum of the Ani'cora and the Colonel’s snoring. Breezy finally spoke, his voice low and gravelly, a stark contrast to Amber's more emotional recounting, but carrying the weight of years. "After the raid, I ran too, Little River. Dove deeper into the wilds than you can imagine. Survival was... raw. Learned to live off the nd, off what others missed. Learned to hunt. Learned to fight.” He paused, his gaze distant, remembering.
“More importantly, I remembered some of the things that our Old Man told me about survival, he was a real tough bastard. Just like him I learned to bargain with spirits for their magical gifts in exchange for my brutality.” His cws extended a bit, and he puffed up a bit before. Amber reached out and grabbed his massive paw, trying to anchor him with his touch. He looked down at her hand on his, and then down to her moon-like face looking up at him. “That was before I met Star, before we fought the darkness until it snuffed out my candle 6 times, but I cwed my way back from the abyss each time. That undead bastard couldn't hold me back. After that we were lost, wandering. But then I found the Court of Dreams. I found a purpose, a home. Peace, at st. The Dutchess offered us safe haven, and the King offered me purpose without submission. He offered me control. A way to master what I am, instead of being mastered by it. I serve him, yes, but I serve myself too.”
Amber scanned the burly man before her, leaned back and smoking his pipe happily as he ends his tale. He seemed contented, while she a little intimidated. “You died…6 times?!” Amber finally excimed, letting it just erupt out of her.
“Brought back from the abyss each time by the grace of my allies in our desperate fight to end a true darkness. I've faced a vile monster before, and my Lord is far from that blood sucking abomination to nature. That vampire lord is now scattered dust, sadly as are so many good people who helped us find that dawn.” Breezy's chest puffed proud, eyes full of memories. “Save for important missions like this, I mostly stay at home nowadays, train my apprentice, and be with my family. I don't have a death wish like I did when I first walked out of the woods with a chip on my shoulder.”
Getting up fully she wrapped her arms suddenly around her brother again. “I'm a hugger, get used to this. Oh, Easy! I’m happy you’ve found your pce big brother. First, I never imagined you to even be alive, nonetheless a family man with a purpose!” She put her paws to her cheeks and held her face in a big, heartfelt smile at the burly man. Amber's mind lingered on the drawings, a soft smile touching her lips. "Easy, you have a family? A wife?" She began, her voice a little softer than before, "do you... do you have kids? Who is the little artist of the family?" She took a seat to eagerly listen again.
Breezy, who had been tending to the small fire, paused. A rare, almost imperceptible softening crossed his gruff features. "Aye," he rumbled, a hint of pride in his voice. "You’re right on both counts. Got a wife, Star. And two cubs - Skye, my little artist, and Sunny, my little explorer." He then turned his golden eyes back to Amber, searching for a rare moment of direct emotional inquiry. "And you, Little River? Found your own hearth? Got any cubs running around? Or a good tom to keep you warm?"
Amber hesitated, a flicker of vulnerability crossing her face. Thank God I don't have kids, she thought, the thought sharp and immediate. But she quickly suppressed it, worried her brother, a family man, would be offended by such a sentiment. She took a breath, choosing her words carefully, "No cubs. Never quite happened for me. But…someone is making my heart flutter a bit..” She felt herself beginning to babble, her hand nervously going to her repaired neckce. “Their name is... Donny. They have this way about them, this quiet strength, and they just... they really see you, you know? And they make me feel safe, truly safe; in a way I haven't felt in a very long time. It's... it's a good feeling.” Fully blushing now, feeling the need to backpedal all of a sudden as if she exposed herself too much, “I-I-I Mean it’s hard to say, they’ve rescued me from danger twice, I owe them so much. I don’t even know how they really feel about me; those gorgeous green eyes are so hard to read!”.
Donny. The words felt strange on her tongue, a small, deliberate deception. It was ironic, almost absurd, that after facing down literal nightmares and finding a spark of control over her own beast, her biggest fear right now was admitting her heart's truth to her brother, nonetheless to herself. This feeling from a woman she barely knew is stronger than any of the flings with men she had when time afforded her romance. Warmth fills her the more she speaks of BD, saying it out loud for the first time was an unexpected pleasure of this fateful encounter. Those green eyes fixed on her like a guiding ntern in the dark.
Yet a worry remains that crawls out from the hole deep inside of Amber, a worry entirely based on her obsessive need to attempt to control how others perceive her. One that still convinced her that everyone would reject her if they knew any of her truths. Her bestial nature was one thing she could not control, but too who made her heart race was far outside any sembnce of control. Her brother spoke so heavily of controlling his world, but all Amber longs to do in her heart is let it all go, let it all out so the world knows her truth. But as the uncomfortable feeling welled up inside her, she focused her anxiety on an external source of equal worry to bury her concerns - Breezy. He was a man of the natural world, a father and a husband. Would he judge her, reject her again, after all these years, after all this? The thought made a cold knot of anxiety form reform in her stomach.
Breezy nodded, a small, approving grunt. "Donny, eh? Good. Always good to have someone. I look forward to shaking his paw, little sister. Maybe I'll get to meet him on neutral ground someday." His casual acceptance, based on his assumption of a male partner despite the gender-neutral pronoun, further highlighted the irony and Amber's internal struggle, yet it was still a profound comfort to her.
"My daughter, Skye River Song," Breezy continued, gesturing vaguely to the drawings. "She carries on the name. Just like you and Mom. A river runs through you all. She's a soft paw, that one likes to doodle all over my wagon. I don't mind. " He then gestured to another drawing of a daffodil on the outside of the wagon.
"And my son, Sunny Meadow Song, he's two years younger than Skye. He's an outgoing boy. Loves bugs, that one, but hates to catch 'em.” the proud father chuckled, a rare, soft sound. "One time, when I came back from having to appear in Somnus Keep, they tried to py a prank on me when I got back. Had the outhouse rigged with tripwires and nets. I saw it before I sat down but still acted like I fell right into their 'trap.' Very cute.”
“Awwww little hunters! Breezy, you big papa, that's adorable! They have to meet their Auntie Amber someday.” Amber felt a profound warmth bloom in her chest, a surprising connection to this little cub she'd never met, a thread of family stretching across the years. The idea of being an aunt brought a rare, unburdened joy to her face. Until another worry hit her with sudden urgency. "Has Skye... has she felt the shift?" Amber asked, her voice dropping to a low, anxious whisper, the joy of being an aunt momentarily overshadowed by the familiar dread. "Has she begun to transform?"
Breezy shook his head, his expression firm. "No. The beast, as you call it, is not mine to pass on.” He paused, his golden eyes softening slightly as they met hers. "How have you managed all these years, Little River? With that... within you?"
Amber let out a short, humorless ugh. "Poorly," she replied, the single word carrying the weight of a lifetime of struggle. The barmaid hung her head, eyes looking into the fire, trying to find kind emerald eyes to bring her comfort.
“Why not tell me about it on the road? "Compass Keep is a day away, we should be there by nightfall tomorrow, save a few stops for the Colonel to eat." Grumble, as if understanding, let out a low, contented rumble from his sleep. "He feels strong, ready to deliver 'Lady Song' to her keep." Amber’s eyes looked over to the slumbering beast, now openly drooling into his patch of hay. “When the old man wakes up, that is.”
