The Lore Wain and Her Nephew Pt. 33

"Before we leave, how many friends were hit with the darts?" Till asked so she would be able to bring enough of the cure to them.

Cy thought a moment before replying, "Four but one was a ridgerunner..." She appeared to become sad. "I don't know where they've taken him..."

Till's eyebrows raised at the sound of this. "What's his name?"

"Zarabean." Cynthia replied.

"Hm..." Till thought to herself. "Zarabean... That name sounds familiar."

"His um... His brother's name is Pummi, I think..." Cy said, trying to recount the time before her unconscious spell.

Till looked at Cy with sudden anger but not directed at her, "Pummington?!"

Cynthia was surprised at the sudden outburst but replied, "U-um maybe? I only heard Pummi..."

"I can't stand that ridgerunner. Lazy glutton hog." Till remarked with clear disdain as she went back to her cabinets and rummaged through them for three more servings of cure. "He's the reason ridgerunners won't just take up farming instead of raiding human farmers!"

"I'm... I'm sorry but I don't understand." Cynthia watched as Till tossed things over her shoulder to look for the small leaves.

Till paused a moment and took a deep breath. She looked back at Cy. "... Some years back, I got an idea. This was back when the poison in the darts was for sure lethal for humans... I was just as greedy as others were in my tribe... Maybe even the most greedy of all at the time." She slowly lowered herself into a crouched position once again, pausing her search for the cure. "Since time is limited, I'll keep this short... It took me seeing a human dying from one of those darts to realize that what we were doing was wrong. From that moment on, I sought out other peaceful ways to get food. I saved seeds from fruit I ate and stored it instead of eating them. I thought that maybe... just maybe... I could start a farm." Till went back to searching for the leaves and continued, "... Pummington was too lazy and fat to consider it. That's right, I said he was fat. Probably still is now." She found the more leaves in a jar and stuck them in her pouch on her hip. She grabbed more than four, just to be safe. Till walked back to Cy, seeming to stand a bit taller than before. "The counsel decided against my notion because Pummi is well respected and I am not..."

"How can you not be? You're so kind!" Cy exclaimed in disbelief, unable to believe that the plump ridgerunner was somehow more likable than her.

"It's complicated... But thank you." Till smiled sadly at her. "Now, let's get you back to your friends. It's late enough."

And so, Till grabbed a small knife and hooked it to her belt before picking up Cynthia and taking her down the vine once again. With that, the two headed back to Nala's orchard.

The trip was strangely peaceful, though Cy clinged to Till's side in fear of what lied in the dark.

Once they could see the lights of the cabin in the distance, Cynthia could feel that her new friend was tensing up. She looked up at her and whispered a question. "What's wrong?"

Till looked back at Cy and whispered, "I think I should take you a little farther and just give you the leaves. Then I can be out of your hair and I don't get blamed for any of this..."

"But you didn't do anything bad." Cynthia sounded very confused. "Why are you so nervous?"

"I saw... I saw the man that owned this farm killed..." Till looked toward the cabin with guilt. "I know who lives there and... I don't know if I can face them."

Cy gently held one of Till's hands as best she could with one of her talons. "I'll be sure they know you didn't do that... And that you saved me. They know Zarabean, he's like you."

Till looked back at Cy with surprise. "With how cruel his brother is... He still managed to be a good apple?"

"Yes. He resisted a bribe from a strander-pirate to trade an apple for a royal child. Bean is a hero, just like you are." Cynthia stated confidently. "If you're different like him, they will accept you and since you are like him, they will!"

Till thought a moment before relaxing a little bit. "Then- Then I'll take you all the way there."

Cy grinned up at her new ridgerunner friend as they continued closer to the cabin.

-

By this time, Clef had fallen back asleep along with Alagatha, who laid beside Nibble as a concerned friend.

Janner had also joined the others in rest, having fallen asleep on the couch sitting up.

Kinabrick was still keeping watch despite not being able to see very far in the dark. However, he kept his sword drawn.

Nala, however, kept a close eye on the passed out crew inside. She observed them all and thought about her husband, who had died from one of these darts years before. Nala genuinely hoped that they would all get better but until then, she felt responsible for caring for each of them.

Nala's eyes locked on Clef as she thought about the way she grabbed her arm just an hour earlier. "What is he so scared of...?" She thought to herself, hesitantly stepping closer and kneeling down beside him once again. Nala looked at his mask, which was still damp from his tears. "I thought he would of taken it off by now in their journey. Has he really been wearing that all year? If not longer?" She hesitantly reached her hand over to one of the tied parts on his mask, which were at the back of his head. Clef's head was resting to the side so that explained why she was able to do this. Nala pulled her hand back again when she touched the fabric. "I really shouldn't... It isn't my business..." She looked at Clef's unconscious face again. "But if he's been wearing it this long, he could have a rash underneath. Maybe I'll just... Loosen the straps a little bit. Then his face can breathe under there." Nala reached a steady hand over once more and gently tugged the mask's tying so that it was looser around Clef's face. To her relief, he didn't even flinch. Nala stood up and carefully stepped back over to the chair she was in and observed the others tiredly. "I hope this isn't all in vain..."

Kinabrick squinted his eyes as he started to see movement approaching. "Who goes there?!" He asked with an intimidating shout, thinking maybe if it was a ridgerunner it would run away.

"It's me! Cynthia!" Cy called, prompting Nala to quickly meet Kinabrick at the doorway.

"Where did you go off t-" Nala went to ask before laying eyes on Till, who had her hand in Cy's talon. "..."

Till looked at Nala in the eyes before them drooping to the floor.

Kinabrick noticed the tension between them and pointed his sword at Till. "Let the girl go."