Taking the Initiative [Dark]

[Dark]

It was over an hour before they found a suitable enough creek, and by the time they stumbled across it Minh was wheezing uncomfortably through cracked lips. When the scent of cool, clean water hit her nostrils she dived forward, submerging her head, and inhaled.

Something about the underground atmosphere had really messed with her system, and she couldn't help but wonder if all the sulfur they had inhaled had done some sort of irreversible damage to her esophagus and lungs. It would certainly fit in with everything else unfortunate that had happened to them.

The need to breathe eventually made her abandon the stream, head dripping water as she took deep breaths. It was cold, and her throat ached from the wet-goodness of it.

Watching the rivulets of mud that her shaking produced, she became increasingly aware of just how dirty she was. Monty had already submerged hirself, squealing at the cold.

"What do you say to a bath, Mnem-dear? We can build a fire so we won't die of the chills."

[Bee]

Mnem was more than on board with the idea of a bath. She was filthy, she smelled, and she thought that if perhaps she threw herself into freezing water, it might keep her awake enough to actually build a fire and some kind of camp before she up and passed out.

"I think that's a lovely idea," she said, and, steeling herself against the imminent rush of cold, plunged into the water. It was painfully icy, like being poked all over with needles, but soon she was numb enough that it really didn't bother her. She rubbed the dirt out of her fur as best she could, until dusty rose and murky brown and burnt umber once again became pink and violet and gold.

When she could no longer stand the cold, Mnem got out of the water and helped Minh gather stray branches and moss for their fire. It was heaven when they got it going. The only thing that would make it better was--

"Meal time."

[Dark]

Minh hummed in agreement, limbs lethargic but clean as she dug through her pack. She unearthed a slab of cured ham and a hunk of tasty honey-nut bread, tearing it up into three relatively equal pieces before dolling it out.

She tore into the meat, enjoying the sweet burst of flavor across her tongue. Near-death experiences really gave a person a new-found appreciation of life, and Minh found she was no exception.

Curled up in front of the fire, watching the flames crackle and pop, she fluffed her fur a bit and relaxed with a sigh. Considering their track record, they were more likely to get ambushed in their sleep than get a full night's rest, but she was warm and fed, and couldn't really make herself care.

"So, this has been a really weird trip, eh?" She fell asleep before she heard an answer.

[Bee]

Mnem lasted only seconds longer than Minh, curling in on herself and using her fluffy tail as a sort of pillow. Exhaustion helped her sleep well through the night and feel mildly refreshed upon rising, and she woke the next morning to Monty sitting on her head and licking her face with great concentration. Probably deciding what spices s/he would need to make her a more appetizing treat.

"Off," she muttered irately, and smacked hir away. Monty huffed, bit her foot, and stomped off to claw at their pack of food, at which point Mnem lost patience entirely, threw the little bander away from the supplies, and told hir that if she went near them again, Mnem was going to drop-kick her so hard s/he'd land in the Tulgey Wood, and then they'd see who was laughing. Not that she expected Monty to obey, of course, but the small outburst of violence made her feel better.

They ate breakfast, refilled their canteens, and decided it would be a good time to check the compass again. They adjusted their trajectory until they were moving Northwest once more, and set off through the woods, moving briskly but stopping more often than they had been for breaks.

[Dark]

Minh had taken to humming to herself in order to better pass the time, kicking at the random rock or pine cone in passing, and occasionally throwing a stick for Monty.

She wasn't really paying attention to their surroundings, so it should really have been no surprise when they stumbled across the tiny village--there had been signs of domestication and brush clearing for several miles, now, if one cared to notice--but Minh started rather comically.

As it were, the village was a beacon of hope--they couldn't be far from the path, now--and civilization meant fresh food--Minh had never felt so compelled to seek out vegetables before--hot baths and an actual bed.

She noticed the silence then, activity in the village grinding to a halt as everyone stopped their tasks to point and stare. Minh twitched uncomfortably under so many speculating eyes.

"Mnem...?"

[Bee]

"Just be quiet for a moment," Mnem said, and she too felt uneasy. Some kind of realization seemed to dawn on the villagers, and their gazes turned accusatory as the whispers began--dear God, is it really them, and just like she said and right down to deranged little beast at their heels. "Actually," Mnem continued. "I really think it would be prudent to run away."

But before they could even move, the crowd began yelling, shouting "Get them!" and "Seize them!" and "Don't let them escape!" Then Mnem and Minh were being rather rudely grabbed by a few extremely large bipedal oxen, and Monty was being flung into a burlap sack.

"What in unholy hell do you think you're doing?"

The oxen holding her didn't respond, merely carted them off through the village while the men and women gathered around to watch them; watch them like they were criminals being led to their execution.

They were taken to a small stone building at the other end of the village--it appeared to be some kind of makeshift jailhouse, with only two cells. Mnem and Minh were tossed into separate ones, and Monty was locked into a little steel carrier--s/he began throwing hirself at the walls of hir tiny prison immediately, howling so loudly Mnem's ears hurt.

"Enjoy your stay, scum," said one of the oxen, with a small sneer. "You won't be in here for long, rest assured."

[Dark]

Minh sat in the middle of the stone floor, brows furrowed as she tried to figure out what had just happened. The villagers had no logical reason to throw them in prison that Minh could fathom--they were clean, if a little tattered, and with the exception of maybe Monty, completely normal looking. It was puzzling, to say the least.

...just like she said...

Who said? She glared at Monty, who had continued to howl, nonstop, since she'd been forced into the cage. S/he hadn't made such a fuss the last time they had been drugged and locked up.

The events of the last few days began to unfold in her head, focusing especially on their last bit of captivity. And Minh really hoped she was wrong, because it couldn't be...

"Mnem... I don't suppose you checked to see if, uh, she was dead?"

[Bee]

Mnem scowled, picking at small pebbles on the floor--at least they weren't in an actual prison. Huge, filthy, crawling with bugs and diseases. She had seen an associate in prison, once, mostly to gloat, and she had vowed never to return. The cat calls from the inmates had been bad enough when they were firmly locked behind bars; Mnem didn't want to count the number of people she would need to murder if she were actually tossed in one of the larger institutions.

She was just as perplexed about what was going on as Minh, but there had to be another explanation than the one Minh seemed to be positing.

"Minh," she said, as calmly and rationally as the situation would allow, "I slammed a frying pan into the back of her head, and then a house fell on her. I do believe the odds are in favor of her being exceptionally dead."

[Dark]

Minh snorted, not able to decide whether she should be amused or exasperated at Mnem's vehement refusal to believe. Considering their luck with these kinds of situations in the last few days, not only was the old woman alive, but very much so, and actively out seeking her revenge.

Whatever the case, Minh didn't feel particularly like arguing her case. If Mnem wanted to be stubborn, there was nothing Minh could do, presently, to try and change her mind. They would know the truth sooner or later, regardless.

Some indefinite time later, Minh was roused from her listless thoughts to the sound of hooves on stone. The doors to their cells clattered open, and Minh flinched away from the too-bright light that immediately spilled into the room.

One of their captures, a particularly burly oxen, grinned in such a hideous manner that Minh found herself unconciously inching away from him.

"Ready for a nice little barbecue, sweets?"

[Bee]

Mnem would have ran if there were anywhere to go, but backing to the far end of her cell would do her no good at all. The oxen grabbed them again, holding their arms down, and carried them out of their cells and back into the streets. The people were following again, and there was an air of morbid excitement about them that worried Mnem deeply.

The cause of their elation soon became known. There was a very large post now erected at the far end of town, standing in the middle of an enormous pile of wood and hay, and laying next to the whole affair was enough rope to circumvent the globe.

"Burn them!" the crowd chanted loudly. "Burn the witches!"

As Mnem and Minh were hauled against the stake and the oxen secured them with rope, Mnem wondered where the hell they would have gotten the idea that the two of them were--

She saw her, then, in the middle of the crowd, her one remaining eye bright with malice. The badger. Oh, for the love of god. She was still alive, one of her ears gone, one of her eyes gone, her head wrapped in a bloody bandage. She looked like a deranged lunatic. This was probably because she was a deranged lunatic.

Mnem had no idea what she had told the people of this town, but Mnem had never been flooded quite so quickly with the intense desire to perpetrate a terrible act of violence.

"I'm going to kill that bitch," she swore through clenched teeth. But she might not get the opportunity.

A widely-grinning fox threw a match.