They had to walk towards the noise.
“Rhys, we meet again,” Setil said.
“Makes sense,” Rhys said as he looked at Setil, remembering him from his time in the neutral city. One of the canids who had called for him back then was a big canid, and looking at him now, he still carried some of those scars.
“They don’t go away, so I keep them,” Setil said, meeting Rhys's gaze.
“That explains it,” Rhys replied.
“Let’s go. I’ve heard there’s a lot of building to be done,” Setil said, turning to lead the way.
In one of the previous days, they had built a place to meet—a simple open gathering spot covered with a shelter to provide shade.
“So, fill me in,” Setil said as the others sat down with him.
Today was not meant for heavy labor; they had to wait for Setil and the others to settle in. Luckily, they hadn’t built a surrounding wall yet. If they had, it would have meant tearing it down just to accommodate the newcomers.
Setil had brought more females than males with him: a total of eighty males—thirty-five of parenting age, thirty teens between thirteen and twenty, and the rest under ten. The females numbered a whopping one hundred, including ten older ones—in fact, that was the first time Rhys had seen that many old canids together. Of the remaining ninety females, forty were in their parenting years, thirty were teens, and the rest were young ones.
Rhys didn’t know all those exact numbers and couldn’t count them one by one, but he had overheard Lycan and Vaikor discussing the headcounts while Setil went to sleep.
As Rhys walked through the village, he came across something familiar.
“Felid slaves,” Rhys muttered, looking at the thirty males and fifteen females. They looked utterly drained, almost sick and malnourished.
“Rhys….”
“Oh, Mikok. I thought you would be with the others.”
“Nothing is happening, so I thought I’d look for you. Of course, she wanted to follow,” Mikok said as Cil clung tightly to Rhys. The scene clearly puzzled the watching felids.
“I don’t think you should help them,” Mikok said.
“Is that so?”
“Yes. You are kind, but not everyone will… appreciate your help,” Mikok replied.
“What would happen if I helped them?” Rhys asked, lifting Cil up as she maintained her tight hold on him.
“They will betray you. Felids are a stupid race; they always think they are superior to others, like….”
“They are more intelligent,” Rhys finished for him. “But what if we don’t help them?”
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“They will be slaves until they die,” Mikok replied.
“What if this place was attacked and the owner of the slaves died? Would they help protect the children, or would they join in the killing?” Rhys asked.
“Uhh… they would….”
“Join in the killing,” Rhys said. “But what if they were given the chance to help build this place, and then given the option to stay as part of a united village—not as slaves, but answering to the alphas just like the canids? If they ever betray you after that, you kill them.”
“I agree with what you're saying, but the alphas might not.”
“It’s simple, Mikok,” Rhys said, taking a step toward the felids. “You give people a chance to restart, whether they are felids or canids. Then, if they betray you, you kill them. You try to help them, but you can’t help someone who doesn’t want to help themselves. So those types of people? You kill them.”
The two went quiet for a moment, but Rhys broke the silence.
“Isn’t that right? I think your cat ears can hear me—in fact, you heard all of it,” Rhys said, looking directly at the slaves.
“They wouldn’t try it,” one of them muttered.
“But if they did, would you betray me if I gave you a house, a place to belong, a place where your families—if they are alive—could live? Would you betray me?” Rhys asked.
When the felids didn't answer, he decided to try once more.
“It’s hard to believe, right? A human making such an offer. But I’m giving you something other felids won’t give you: either die a slave, or answer to the alphas. But remember, the humans who took the neutral city will not care about you. At this point, they might kill me too. So it’s either you side with the demi-humans, or you destroy yourselves before the humans kill you,” Rhys added, turning to walk away.
“If you did that, I’d accept…”
“Me too….”
“Count me in, too.”
“We’re just tired of being slaves,” another voice said.
“They will not betray us,” Rhys said over his shoulder. “You just have to take this place as your future.”
“Are you an alpha?” a female voice called out from among the felids.
Rhys turned around and held up his collar. “Just a slave,” he replied, and turned back around.
The news was already ahead of him. Lycan and Vaikor were standing together, answering to some of the higher-ranking young canids.
“What is it? I saw a lot of people staring at me,” Rhys said as he approached Lycan and Vaikor.
“There’s a rumor that you were talking to the felid slaves,” Lycan said.
“Yes, I was,” Rhys replied simply.
“And because of how you treat Cil and Sely, they fear you might want to give them freedom,” Vaikor added.
“Not give them freedom, but yes—in due time,” Rhys acknowledged.
Lycan turned around, visibly frustrated. “Rhys, with Sely and Cil, we accepted it. But those felids? We do not trust them. They killed canids—many canids….”
“And canids killed felids. So felids killed humans, and humans killed demi-humans, so the minotaurs killed the canids, and….”
“What are you saying, damn hu….”
“Careful there. You came with Setil, yes, but be careful,” Lycan warned, stepping in to cut off the aggressive young canid.
“Did you listen to the words I said? Let me repeat them,” Rhys said. “Canids killed felids, so felids killed humans, and humans killed the demi-humans, so the minotaurs killed the canids, and whoever can kill those big brutes killed them.”
Rhys paused, letting the silence hang. “Do you know where the difference is in my words?”
“I can’t—”
“Wait right there, I need you to listen,” Rhys said, stepping closer. “Oh, Cil, go to Mikok.”
Cil didn’t want to be carried by Mikok, standing frozen for a moment with a puzzled face as she looked around before turning back to grab Rhys's hand instead.
“What’s your name?” Rhys asked, looking down at the pale-complexioned canid whose black hair and ears shifted in the breeze.
“I’m called Kan,” the young canid answered.
“Kan. Okay then. What I said was: canids killed felids, so felids killed humans, and humans killed the demi-humans, so the minotaurs killed the canids, and whoever can kill those big brutes killed them,” Rhys repeated, slower this time. “Do you get the difference in my words?”
“I’m going to tell Setil,” Kan said, turning on his heel and walking away from Rhys and the others.
“I’m not here to cause trouble,” Rhys said, turning to Vaikor and Lycan.
“Oh no, we heard the difference,” Vaikor said.
“Let me get her back inside. I think we’re both hungry now,” Rhys said, taking Cil's hand as he headed back.