One last post!!! I really like this one... the title sums it up perfectly. And hopefully this nice long juicy chapter makes up for the lackage in postage.
@Lili Shakespeare the Provider of Caffeinated Beverages(FF, FAR, BLC, ASC)
@Batwhacker the Freedom Fighter ✨✨✨✨ (BLC)
And yes, I will attempt to keep writing over the summer. Might be hard with no computer...
Janner woke suddenly, blinking against a sudden flood of sunlight.
For a moment, still caught between dream and memory, he saw a giant bug’s antennae hovering inches from his face. Panic surged through him—venomous flashes of the chaos his life had been recently—until he blinked again and realized:
It was just the tavern owner’s lanky mustache.
Janner sat up, heart still pounding, and nudged Tink awake. Rebekah was still curled nearby, sleeping soundly. Janner decided to leave her like that as long as possible.
The man stood over them, frowning.
“What are you still doing here?”
“It was a trap,” Janner hissed, his voice low and sharp. “But maybe you already knew that.”
The man stiffened, looking slightly insulted.
“No, I didn’t. I meant to get you safe to the Ice Prairies. So either Gammon wants you caught... or Migg was a thief and a liar.”
Janner's shoulders relaxed a little, though the knot in his stomach remained.
Tink stirred and spoke up, his eyes bright with sudden energy.
“We need to find a Strander burrow on the east—”
The man’s eyes widened in terror.
“Don't tell me where!” he barked. “Never can tell when a Strander’s listening—and they don’t take kindly to others knowing their secrets.”
Tink froze, wide-eyed.
Then he grinned sheepishly and wove his words more carefully.
“We need directions... to the place we can’t say. On the east side of town. Can you help?”
~~~
Janner peered out at the chaotic, noisy street, his sweaty hand grasping Rebekah’s tightly.
“Alright. On my signal, follow me.”
Tink tapped the splintered wooden side of the building for three tense seconds—then bolted straight into the crowd.
“Tink!” Janner hissed. “Get back here!”
But it was too late.
Janner lunged after him, dragging Rebekah along. She tried to match his pace, her nine-year-old legs pumping as fast as they could—but the crowd was thick, the noise overwhelming. Her breaths turned ragged.
And then it happened.
A herd of runaway gloats barreled through the street, hooves clattering, bleating wildly. The press of bodies and animals forced Janner off balance.
Rebekah stumbled.
Her hand slipped from his.
“Janner!” she called, desperate.
But the bleating drowned her out.
Janner surged forward, unaware. Something inside him burned—some wild protective speed, some need to catch up.
He didn’t notice he was alone.
Ahead, Tink bounced on his heels, impatient, a thick stream of wagons and carriages cutting across their path like a moving wall.
Janner took advantage of the delay, grabbing his brother’s arm, thoroughly annoyed—and his tight tone showed it.
“Kalmar Igiby! You shouldn’t have run off like that! We’re supposed to stick together! Why are you acting so irresponsible? You’re the king! I’m supposed to keep you safe!”
Kalmar turned, eyes burning.
“Leave me alone. I don’t want to be king.”
He wrenched his arm free and darted into the street, weaving through carts and people like it was a game of zibsy.
Janner threw up his hands.
“Fine! Find your own way back. I don’t care!”
But then he stopped, breath catching.
“Rebekah.”
Panic dropped into his chest like a stone.
He spun around and ran, retracing his steps, shoving through the crowd, calling out.
“Have you seen a little girl? Brown eyes? Small—about this high—Rebekah?”
(Brown eyes aren’t very common in Aerwiar, after all.)
He was halfway back to the alley when it happened.
In his panic, he didn't notice a couple of strange ragged people watching him, eyes filled with a strange greed. He also didn't notice them following him until it was too late.
Whumph!
A bag was over his head and he was carried into a nearby alley quicker than you could say squibbet.
~~~
Rebekah groaned. Janner didn’t hear her.
Maybe there is a reason to use your voice in non important situations, she mused. If only so those who care about you recognize it in the important ones.
She sat up slowly, brushing dirt from her arms. But how am I going to get back?
I can’t just wait here. There are Fangs everywhere... and more than a few creepy people watching from the corners. What did Mama say to do if I ever got lost?
Don’t panic. Stay in the place you got left at.
She looked around, heart pounding. No... not here. That’s too dangerous.
Then she remembered.
Mama said, if you ever feel threatened and you’re all alone, find another mother. Or a kind-looking lady. Stick close. Connect yourself to her.
That’s a good idea, she thought. But I’m going to make sure I can trust her first.
Her eyes flicked toward the crowds. I should’ve spoken up last night when I didn’t trust Landers... instead of worrying I’d mess up the plan or be a problem.
Would’ve saved a lot of trouble.
Rebekah rose from the gutter, wiping the grit from her hands, and scanned the street. No one with children. But there were a few young women moving confidently through the crowd.
She picked the one who seemed calmest and kindest.
Then she moved—dodging a carriage, leaping aside from a snarling street dog, and darting toward her target.
She ran straight into the woman’s skirts.
“Mama!”
The woman startled—but only for a second. Her eyes flicked to Rebekah’s face, then swept the street. She understood.
“Darling!” she cried, wrapping an arm around Rebekah and pulling her close. “You shouldn’t be out of the house! You could be kidnapped—or worse!”
She pressed the girl protectively into the folds of her skirt and hurried on, heading in the direction she’d already been walking.
From the outside, it looked like nothing out of the ordinary. Just a mother, scolding her daughter. A girl who’d wandered too far. Nothing a Fang would find worth stopping for.
~~~
Nia paced back and forth in the burrow, her footsteps uneven in the packed earth. Leeli, Podo, and Oscar watched silently, weariness heavy in the air.
“I shouldn’t have left them behind!”
Her voice cracked. “What if something’s happened to them?”
Podo frowned. “They’ll be fine. Janner’s a smart lad. He’ll get them all to safety. Then we can leave for the Ice Prairies.”
Nia looked at him, jaw clenched, trying—and failing—to let herself believe it.
“I’m going out to look for them.”
She turned, but Podo stepped forward.
“No. I’ll go. The Fangs are looking for yo—”
“They’re looking for you, too!” Nia snapped.
Oscar cleared his throat softly from the corner. The others turned, startled.
“I’ll go,” he said. “I’m not high on the Fangs’ radar. And if I get caught... oh well. I might know someone who can help.”
Nia and Podo exchanged a look—her shoulders slumping in dismay, his in quiet relief.
Oscar slipped out of the burrow, his footsteps echoing into the tunnels until they vanished into silence.
After a pause, Leeli spoke.
“I’m worried for Kal.”
“Kal?” Nia asked, eyebrows furrowed—half worry, half confusion.
“Kalmar told me to call him that,” Leeli explained. “When we were with the Stranders. He said Maraly told him ‘Tink’ was too childish.”
She paused.
“That’s why I’m worried. I think... I think he wants to go back to the Stranders. He likes the idea of power. Absolute power. With no responsibilities.”
Podo and Nia shared a look—deep, unsettled, and full of the things they didn’t want to say aloud. And thankfully to them, something, or rather someone interrupted before they would need to.
"Maraly?"
Leeli raised her eyebrows as she looked at the Strander girl standing behind her grandfather.
Podo whirled around, hand already on his blade.
"Relax ol man, I'm here ta warn ye, not harm."
She wandered further in, then leaned calmly against the stony wall, unperturbed by the threatening glare Podo was sending her way.
"You need to leave. Me da set up a Strander bounty for finding you guys. Strander's will be crawlin through these tunnels like toe nibblers in a lone boot before noontide."
Podo growled, "We can't leave, bounty or no."
Maraly responded dryly, "Your choice if you ignore me. I don't care."
Nia’s voice was taut. “The boys and Rebekah aren’t back yet. We’ll clear out once they are.”
Maraly frowned, her expression unreadable. “They’re not coming back. Best advice I’ve got? Protect what you’ve got left.”
She paused, eyes narrowing slightly. “Not the boys, at least. Maybe the little one. She’s got brains. Might get back in one piece.”
Podo frowned, about to speak when Leeli limped up on her crutch.
"Why are you helping us?"
Maraly looked down at the younger girl, face devoid of emotion, "Me da already wants me hide. No reason not to, and every reason to annoy him." *
She then loped out of the room, disappearing as quick as a shadow.
~~~
Rebekah thanked the young woman when they reached a street she recognized, not wanting to seem ungrateful. She assured the lady that she knew where she was now and could find her way home.
Then she ran.
She’d told the woman her family lived near Squibbly Street—close enough to the truth. She remembered they'd passed through a lane nearby the night before. Vibbly, or something like it.
She crept around the corner, alert. As a Fang passed by, she ducked behind a barrel beside the trapdoor, breath held tight in her chest. When the street was clear, she lifted the hidden hatch and slipped below.
The tunnel air hit her like a cool sigh—damp, earthy, quiet. Ant-farm-like passages stretched in all directions, but to her relief, she found she remembered the way. Her feet led her almost on their own.
She reached the burrow door and paused as voices echoed faintly from within.
Oscar’s voice:
“…My friend said the kids are probably lost by now. He can’t help—just wanted to warn us. If they’ve been on the streets for twenty-four hours...”
Nia was pacing, sharp footsteps back and forth.
Podo’s voice was a rumble of frustration.
Rebekah pushed open the door.
“Bekah!” Leeli cried, a flood of relief—and fear—rising in her voice as she saw her sister enter alone.
“Where are the boys?” Nia asked immediately, stepping forward.
Rebekah frowned. She didn’t answer—but she didn’t need to. **
They saw it in her face.
Silence fell like a curtain.
Then Podo, quiet but firm:
“We’ll wait an hour more. But then… we do need to leave.”
No one argued.
They all knew he was right.
*I do believe Maraly cares for them, she just hides it really well. Probably some spite involved as well to be honest.
**Rebekah has very expressive hazel eyes, and in my idea of Aerwiar, everything is like times ten in intensity. Meaning she can basically communicate solely with her eyes, even stuff like numbers and names if you know her well enough. She also is really good at reading people through their eyes and face.
This is also why I, Gracie, am an extremely fast reader, and later excel at a certain thing I can't reveal yet but is pretty awesome. This also explains why bookpeople in Aerwiar are so much more in tune with the bookverse and why kids seem to be either completely mature or not. They get to choose stuff, just whatever it is is magnified.
Oh, and on eyes, personal head canon that blue eyes are dominant in Aerwiar seeing as they are so common, and that hazel is practically non existent so people think it's brown or green. (That's partially because I have a vendetta against the fact that most of the people in my fam have hazel instead of blue eyes like me. Basically, I'm making it a special color, and my eyes normal 😅)
