Lily was taken to the council’s headquarters, standing before the three that looked at her like a traitor. She knew she wasn’t one, but that didn’t stop the berating. The probing questions, the slander slung at Gux, the hatred leveled at her… It was overwhelming, but she endured, keeping calm and resolute. The only time she lashed out, no matter what charges of treason and what consequences there should be, was when it was suggested that they would hunt Gux down. He had escaped from the tracking scouts, blending into the woods even better than they had, and he was gone…
When they suggested hunting him down, she looked at them with cold, powerful eyes. “If you hurt a single hair on that precious boy’s head, you will be making the biggest mistake of your lives.” They, of course, did not take kindly to the threat, even suggesting that her motherly instincts were getting the better of her before taking her away. She was locked in a dungeon, special shackles placed on her hands and feet that would change size with her, and meshing on the window past the bars, ensuring she couldn’t slip out.
Locked in her cell, she looked out at the birds chirping outside. Already she was jealous, missing her freedom, and a bit of her hated Gux for what was happening to her. How could that gnoll have actually run off like that? Why hadn’t he come and saved her already? But that was the fleeting rage of a newly incarcerated woman, and within the first hour she’d resigned herself to a meditative rest, laying on the simple cot she was presented with and listening to her feelings.
The world was a complicated place. People she had trusted for years had just proven to her that the courtesy wasn’t returned, and she’d basically had love confessed to her by someone who… well, she’d been looking at as a cross between a child and a pet, almost… And she knew that wasn’t fair. Sure, he was about 1/11th her age, give or take, and he had a childlike innocence and toddler-esque level of speaking, but… That was due to who he was, not his development… If anything, it might just be how gnolls showed being kind.
She rolled over on the bed, groaning at the weight of her cuffs for a moment. There was nothing she could do about them, but just to be sure, she changed into a sparrow, then a fawn… both still locked down by the heavy shackles binding her. She stuck with the second form for a little, though, trotting around her cell as she thought.
~~~
Gux sat in the bushes, crying to himself and hiding away. He had escaped well enough, but he was back in the normal forest, without the magic, and rain was falling down on him, soaking his fur and clothes. His heart ached, wondering if he’d ever see Lily again, and he could see the blood stuck to the tip of that stick… He hadn’t wanted to hurt anyone… He never wanted to… and doing so had stirred that hunger. He popped one of the berries in his mouth, calming it again so he could think.
There was… actually one reason he would hurt someone again: to protect Lily. Even if she didn’t love him back, she was part of his tribe now, much more important to him than his old tribe… he’d do anything for her… and he’d just ran. He whined and whimpered again. Ever since he’d made it away, he’d been traveling around the forest in an anxious state, trying to find those markings that Lily had pointed out. Try as he might, he’d never been able to learn the language the tribe used to mark its way home… He knew what it looked like, and could find it easily, but without knowing what it said, he’d always followed Lily’s instructions when she pointed at the runes hidden in bark or under rocks.
But now he was alone, his heart aching for Lily, unable to even know which way she was in… He sat there, holding a different stick, watching it flick back and forth. It took on a few shapes but, try as he might, all of them were for fighting. He didn’t want to fight… he never wanted to fight again… but if he had to, he now had the magic for it, and he would fight through an army to get to Lily.
Little did he know that, a small ways through the forest, hundreds of feet in motion promised to give him his wish.
~~~
Lily stood in the center of the room, tapping one of her hooves on the floor. It truly wasn’t fair, but she’d reached an agreement with herself. If the commune kept her in, she was fighting for Gux to be let back. He’d be able to prove almost any trial… he’d be fine. If she was kicked out… well, she was going to find him, letting him know…
What? She still didn’t know what she felt. His tall, muscular body beneath the fur had been adorable whenever she thought about it, but with his love on the line, a barrier she didn’t know was there before was gone now, and those muscles, that height, his smile and growling when angry… She’d never thought of herself in any way but as a humanoid couple, but… She wanted to give him a shot.
He’d already been infinitely better than her last boyfriend, the cocky Rooster… He’d strut around the place, acting like she was his property and stealing kisses, not caring about her skills… He’d decided scouting wasn’t enough and gone off on a mission, leaving her alone… not that she minded. By the time he left, she’d hated him so much that, while she cried at the farewell, she hadn’t even gotten close since. And since he hadn’t sent a bird or anything, but had been confirmed to still be alive… Well, she wasn’t going to deal with him.
She still felt a pang of… something, something Gux wasn’t filling, but she shook her head, sitting down on the bed and turning back into an elf. He… He deserved more than she’d given him, and letting him leave was step one… if he ever came back, she was his.
By this time, it was sunset, and she glowered out the window as the light shades of sunset started to appear in the sky. There would be more hearings for her case in a week, and maybe then-
A crash sounded at the edge of the village, followed by a howl and the sounds of screaming and spells being slung. She climbed up to the window, looking out to see smoke rising up from the edge of the village. An evil, almost laughing yipping noise came from the edge of the village and her heart sank… “Gnolls…” She dropped back on the bed. “Just… what the councilor wants.”
She could hear the screams and destruction as the gnolls tore through town, and she just closed her eyes, wishing Gux was there… Then she heard the tap on the window from the sparrow that was there. Quickly she worked a small yew wand she’d kept in her hair, keeping it together, out and flicked it for a spell. A moment later, the bird was looking at her blankly.
She breathed in deeply, ready to send a message to the most important person on earth.
~~~
Gux was sitting alone, still crying, when he smelled the smoke. He couldn’t see or hear anything, but the smell was there, burning into his nostrils… He glared around, following it for a little bit into the twisting maze, before he was hit by a sparrow flying out. He looked at it with annoyance until it opened its mouth, Lily’s voice coming out. “Gux, the village is under attack by gnolls… We need you. I need you. Don’t leave me in prison…”
At the sound of her voice, he nodded, smelling the air… the smoke was a little stronger from one direction. He thought he could follow it when he remembered the other effect of the spell he’d just heard. He grabbed the sparrow gently, whispering to it, before he set it flying, taking off at a full sprint behind it, trusting his nose once the bird outsped him.
He wouldn’t let her words go unheeded. He would protect her… he didn’t care if his, hers, or a million tribes stood in the way.
~~~
The sounds and smells of battle were brimming around Lily as she pounded on the door, wanting to be let out to help, but it seemed her guards had already gone out to fight. She sat down, groaning in frustration that she’d used her beast shapes to think and contemplating what to do, when her sparrow reappeared. She went to the window, listening.
“I’m coming. Stay safe.” Her heart skipped a beat at the simple, dominant tone she heard… she just hoped it was the same Gux when she saw him.
