Almasta left him by the well. She told him to stay put until he received orders otherwise, but only from her not Roone. Even for the equine, she was acting very odd lately. What thanks did he get saving her from the pit? How did she even get in there anyway?
Cunner sighed and glanced around the darkness. He could use a little light in this hallway. He felt along the wooden walls until his paw discovered a large board. He tried to pry the window open, but to no avail. It was not just the light ... there was a stench in this hallway. The latrine must be broken again.
He heard his claws pit pat along the planks below him as he strode aimlessly in the shadows. Cunner was a patient feline, but there was no need to be idle. His blood still needed to flow, as cursed as it was. As his martial arts master would say, exercise no matter the circumstance.
Cunner stopped to concentrate on his thoughts, but those thoughts quickly dissolved when he heard a pit pat that was not his own. There was someone else here, he noted. He looked around him, but all he saw was darkness. Why were vamps so afraid of the light?
"Who's there?" he asked.
The pit pat gained rhythm and became louder. Cunner's intruder was running toward him. The hallway was long, but it would not take long for the furre to reach him.
"Almasta?" Cunner called, "Is that you?"
Of course it was not her, the equine left him the other way. Not only that but she had hooves and hooves did not go pit pat. This had to be either a feline or canine considering the speed, sound, and rhythm. And whomever it was, it was almost on top of him.
"Who-"
With a grunt, Cunner felt a full force collide into him. His back hit the planks once and he actually bounced. He probably would have bounced again if it were not for the wall. His left shoulder and head slammed into it.
The vamp was groggy. He felt someone on top of him. He concentrated, trying to take the blur out of his eyes. It was a feline. Before he could make out anything else, the intruder looked up.
"Look out," she warned.
Pain and darkness. Those were all that Cunner could process at the moment. Something had hit his head and he could not see. His martial arts master would probably be scorning him right now.
But then there was brightness. There was a shadow over Cunner and he still felt that shadow laying on top of him. He eyes tried to recover once again and was met with green eyes.
"The window plank fell and hit you on the head," she told him, "What's your name?"
"Cu ... Cunner," he replied.
"Cucunner," she echoed, "Sounds like you're a butterfly. My name is Exavia."
The blur was gone. He saw her red hair now; her brown fur and creamy coloured markings... and were those tufts? She leaned into his face, smiling, but her eyes exhibited wonder. She was searching for something.
"Why do I see trees?" she asked, "You must not be from here."
"I'm fra ... from Yrdnal," he stammered.
"Yrdnal?" she asked. Her smile vanished. She leaned even closer to him. Her nosed brushed against his. What was she doing? He was about to ask when he felt her lips reache his. She was kissing him? It was only for a few seconds and when it was over, Exavia raised her head again.
"Ew," she replied.
"Ew?" Cunner responded, "You were the one who kissed me."
"You're not who I thought you were," she explained as she bit her lower lip, "Which is too bad. I only know of one other survivor."
"You know someone else from Yrdnal? But I was told that no one survived the ambush by vamp hunters. I was out in the woods when it happened."
"Yes I know," Exavia said, "The sand hid you very well."
Cunner blinked, "How did you ... ?"
"You had orange fur once ... and black hair. Now it's the opposite. Puberty was rather strange for you, wasn't it?"
"How did you ... ?"
"You're repeating yourself," Exavia snapped.
Cunner closed his mouth without a word.
"Your eyes are the same. They're a very nice blue. I like blue."
"Why are yours green?"
"Now you're interrupting me, Cucunner," she snapped again.
"Sorry."
"Just keep quiet, okay?" she asked with a smile.
Cunner nodded and returned the smile. He felt a peculiar feeling about this furre. It might have something to do with being squashed underneath her, but he listened intently anyway for what she was saying.
"Everything returns to ruin," she continued, "Whatever we create will turn to sand. When you came back to Yrdnal, you saw the ruin. You saw the sand. You spent your teenaged years in the Xte City ruins before finding a friend from this vamp colony. They called you cursed like them, but you were not born that way. How did you become cursed?
"And where were you when Yrdnal was attacked?"
Cunner was under the sandy deposit on top of the hill. He was small for an eleven year old, so he could easily dig in and bury himself under the alluvium. It would cause distraught from his mother but he felt more safe here than anywhere else. Besides, Markliam brought his crossbow without his father's permission, why could he not disobey his mother too? Parents just do not see logic.
"Amazing strategy," Cunner heard Exavia muse from above the alluvial layers, "You left your paw prints across the sand and into the forest. Nobody would think that you're hiding in there."
Cunner felt the sand vibrate and he knew that Markliam was approaching. He kept very still as his friend reached his position and stopped. What was Markliam doing? Did he find me? The orange furre held his breath and waited.
"Is that him?" Exavia asked, startling Cunner, "He's the one I'm looking for?"
Markliam ran off toward the village. Cunner sighed with relief but also thought carefully. Why would his brown friend not follow Cunner's paw prints?
Cunner wiggled out of the sand and gasped for air. It was getting very warm around him. And what was that stench? He looked to Exavia, who still stood there. She was wearing a leather backpack, but she too looked off toward the village. There were chirping sounds coming from the village.
Soils of yesterday, I stand before you, younger than the valleys of which you hide.
"Demon," Exavia whispered. Her own low voice carried itself over the chirps.
Earth remains.
Cunner heard brambles and twigs snap chaotically. He scurried back as far as he could into the sand. He kept his head over the top layer to watch what was happening.
Markliam came out of the woods and ran to the edge of the hill. He slipped on a rock and started falling down into the forest below. However, Cunner was no longer watching his friend. Other things came out of the woods, dark figures with glowing eyes, but no established face. One looked at him and Cunner froze. He stared into the eyes. Seconds later, the eyes turned away, disinterested in the hiding furre. The dark ones vanished into the ground.
And Cunner awoke. The light from the open window told him where he was. The feline was still laying on the planks, but Exavia was no longer on him. Cunner heard a pit pat and rolled to see who it was. It was a shadow by the entrance of the well. But this figure had wings. He almost assumed it was someone else, but then he noticed strands of hair ... tufts from her ears.
"Exavia?" he called.
The figure was startled and turned to face him.
"You're awake already?" she whispered, "How is that possible?"
"My dreams also turn into sand," he whispered back.
"What makes you think you're not dreaming now?"
"There's no sand here."
The figure paused as if to process that answer. But her wings flapped either with a mind of their own or from her doing. Whatever the control, her concentration was interrupted. She turned back and proceeded into the room.
"Why are your eyes green?" Cunner asked.
The figure stopped again and attempted to turn, but she kept her face low and toward the ground. It was as if she did not want to be seen at the moment. Cunner could scarcely hear a sniffle. Was she crying?
"I'm looking for someone," she answered.
"I don't understand."
Exavia placed her paw against the wall as if to balance her feelings. She looked to the room then back at Cunner. This time he could see her face, just barely. But then she lowered it again. She croaked as she inhaled, preparing to answer him.
"Neither do I."
With one flap she was above ground. Her wings propelled her into the room and toward the ceiling. There was a rain roof there, Cunner knew. Exavia would be exiting in that way. Just as he made that deduction, she was gone.