They had spent almost three to five hours waiting, but nothing stirred, so Rhys simply sat there with Cil and Sely, playing until the day finally ended.
Morning arrived in a flurry of commotion. Rhys had to be woken up by Sely, and in a rush. The details were scarce, but word had reached them about the felids, so Rhys sprinted across the village and shoved his way through the crowd.
“Mikok?” Rhys asked, catching his breath. “What’s happening here?”
“...Uhh... Kan, he was trying to cause trouble here. I came to talk to the felids, that’s—”
“Take a breath,” Rhys said.
“Rhys, what’s this I’m hearing?” Setil asked, stepping forward.
Rhys looked around, scanning the crowd, but he couldn't find Lycan or Vaikor anywhere.
“I would like for the felids to be under my care,” Rhys said.
“They are my slaves. They belong to my canids—”
“Our canids, and I want them to be mine,” Rhys interrupted.
“You are just a slave......”
“Alpha,” someone corrected loudly from the crowd, cutting Setil off.
“What will you do with them?” Setil asked, narrowing his eyes.
“I’ll have them work for their freedom, then they can decide whether to stay or leave,” Rhys said. His words immediately sparked a wave of murmuring through the gatherers.
“Is that why that boy was with them?” Setil asked, gesturing toward Mikok.
“I don’t even know what Mikok wants,” Rhys replied.
“I want him to pay!” Mikok yelled. “He fought the next alpha, and that’s enough to get him beaten real hard.”
“What was Kan even doing here?” Rhys asked.
“Looking after the felids, making sure they don’t step out of line,” Setil replied.
“Then Mikok won’t be touched,” Rhys stated firmly.
“This is for the united village of canids, not demi-humans and abandoned humans,” Kan snapped, prompting Rhys to hold Mikok back from lunging.
“Okay then, I’m leaving. I’ll get Cil and Sely. Can I take them, too?” Rhys asked, looking over at the felids.
“Can I follow you?” Mikok asked.
“We might die soon,” Rhys replied.
“I’ll do my best to stop that,” Mikok said.
“Fine, take them and leave,” Setil muttered, a decision that surprised even the felids themselves.
“Let’s go, guys. Into the wilderness we go,” Rhys said, turning around—but not a single felid moved an inch.
“I want to leave,” Rhys prompted. Still, no reply.
“Eeh, then how am I supposed to leave?” Rhys muttered.
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“Going where?” Lycan’s voice called out as he approached.
“Humans and felids aren’t allowed in the United Village of Canids, so I’m leaving,” Rhys explained.
“Kan, this is an alpha. Setil, can we talk about this away from the others?” Vaikor pressed, walking up beside Lycan.
“No.”
“Okay then. Rhys will have the felids. If he wants to kill them, he kills them; if he wants to let them run away, he lets them,” Lycan declared.
“But—”
“Shut up, Kan. As if Mikok beating you wasn’t enough, there are women here,” Vaikor cut in, shaking his head. “And there are four alphas here; three of us say Rhys is right, meaning it's majority rules. You don’t even care that much about the felids anyway, as Rhys pointed out.”
Vaikor crossed his arms. “Canids killed felids, so felids killed humans, and humans killed the demi-humans, and then the minotaurs killed the canids—and whoever could kill those big brutes killed them. It never ends.”
“I think tomorrow we can start working,” Rhys announced over the chatter. “All the males will be doing the heavy jobs. The females, I want to see you at the garden. Everyone is involved, except the grannies.”
With that, Rhys turned and walked away, dragging Mikok with him. Everyone else slowly dispersed. The only thing Rhys seemed genuinely happy about was that Mikok hadn't lost his fight against Kan; other than that, it called for a stern scolding all the way back.
The felids didn't see Rhys again until the afternoon when he strolled back through their camp.
“You are mine now,” Rhys said simply.
“So what do you want us to do?”
“As we planned, you work. In return, I give you freedom of choice: stay or leave.”
“You said that work starts tomorrow...”
“Yes. Actually, that’s because I want you to eat first, considering the males will be digging wells while the females handle the garden,” Rhys replied. “Anyway, I’m heading out. See you tomorrow, and the canids will bring you the food you need.”
And just like that, he left them again.
Rhys had his own duties to attend to. He believed that becoming comfortable was one way to let skills develop, even if some felids had grown up in these exact same harsh conditions and didn't see the logic in it. Still, he couldn't argue too hard. He had been in constant mental turmoil lately; otherwise, he could have spent this time studying the anatomy of felids or canids. But he had a job to do first, so he found himself playing with Cil until she went off to bathe with Sely.
The rest of the evening passed quietly, sliding into a peaceful, quiet night.
But for some reason, Rhys couldn't sleep. In fact, the source of his restlessness was waiting for him. It sprung up from the deepest parts of his mind, locked behind the mansion doors of his memories: a school table. He was seated at a school desk in a classroom, but why were there heavy iron chains wrapped around it? Those were questions for another time. Rhys already knew what it was about, and the mere thought of it was enough to drive him out of the house.
It turned into a midnight stroll. He walked by himself under the pale moonlight.
“Rhys!”
“Oh, Orry. I thought everyone was sleeping.”
“No, I’m part of the group staying up for the late shift.”
“On guard?”
“Yes. What about you?”
“No, I actually couldn't sleep, so I'm just walking around.”
“ Alone?”
“Uhh... there are too many canids around. I think I’m safe,” Rhys replied with a faint smile.
There was nothing to argue about there. Rhys had come to understand that active patrol groups of three were constantly sweeping the area. Eventually, his wandering steps took him to the edge of the well—one of the biggest in the settlement, if not the biggest.
“Water problems, and yet there is so much water underground. A little far down, yes, but water is there,” Rhys muttered, sitting down on the cemented rim.
“Just like that, I can't sleep,” he sighed. Every time he tried closing his eyes, he saw that school table again, blurred by a strange haze as if the memory was happening all over again. It sent bad goosebumps crawling up his arms and chased the sleep right out of him.
“Ethar... I haven't thought—well, I've been trying not to think of you, or the Flintwood canids. But out here, even my own name feels heavy,” Rhys murmured to himself.
“I hope to meet you again, and I hope you will forgive me. I tried to do the same thing the alphas did—tried my best, but failed. And Ellie, too... Viloty, Myle, Myl... uh, Viop. But I hear good things about you, how the Flintwood canids and the Ravari people work together. Maybe that’s the way forward. I build and leave, before I find myself in the hands of another mistress.”
Rhys let out a dry laugh. “What am I even doing? It’s not like the wind carries words or messages. Let me go check out the garden instead.” He pushed himself up, leaving the spot behind.
It went on like that until morning. Ironically, the moment he finally felt sleepy was right as the sun began to rise, so he spent most of the morning buried deep in his blankets.
“Think about it, I haven't seen you with a girl yet,” Sely teased as the day wound down.
“I don’t think right now is a good time to have relationships,” Rhys replied from beneath his blankets.
Nearby, Cil was just sitting bedside, quietly tangling her fingers in Rhys’s long hair.
“What?” Sely grinned. “Did you want me to start filling the spot up for you?”