The hyenas were getting closer.
It was the cursed snow. They were following the tracks.
“We have to get out of sight.” Alex spoke up, adjusting Eddie’s position on his shoulder. The badger was persistent. He still thought there was a way for them to get out of this.
The sun had gone down. They were trudging through deep snow in the dark. They had slim chances of escape and even slimmer chances of survival.
“This way,” Plume spoke. They followed him as he turned. There was a large tree. It had no leaves. It had been dormant for as long as the winter ravaged the land.
And at the bottom of the tree, there was a fox. Its red fur was peppered with snow. And its amber eyes illuminated in the darkness.
“Plume,” the fox greeted. A feminine voice meant that it was female. Though, in all the books he read, the fox’s appearance pointed to it being female. It was dainty in appearance. “What brings you to the forest at this hour? And where is Peep?”
“Enough of your malarkey, Ripley,” Plume snapped. “We found the three otherworlders.”
The fox, Ripley looked past the badger and to the humans. Alex put Eddie on the ground, he became heavier the longer they moved, though he still kept a grip on his arm. The fox then bowed to them. “Your Majesties,” the fox straightened up again. “Where’s the Earthborn?”
“She sacrificed herself for the otherworlders,” Plume told him. “The mage has her. And now, the hyenas are on our tail.”
The fox hummed. “Have you not thought to use that bow?”
Alex shifted in the snow as Peep jumped from Octavia’s shoulder to Plume’s. “He doesn’t know how. Our best bet is to hide.”
The fox sighed. “The tree.” And so, Octavia climbed first, and then Eddie who was forced. Alex handed Peep and Plume to them. But the fox didn’t want to. “Best you climb now, boy.”
He’d covered their tracks to make it seem like they hadn’t gone through there. It was a clever creature, though he supposed that was the point.
“Come on,” Alex persisted. “I’ve heard the stories, if she gets you, you’re done.”
The fox gave in and walked toward him. “Watch the fur, I’ll have you know that I’ve put a lot of work into it.”
He let out a breath that was really supposed to be a laugh as he bent over and picked her up. Octavia lifted her to the higher branch. Then Alex climbed himself. He noticed their footprints at the bottom of the tree and remembered something he read in a story once. it wasn’t a true story mind you, but it was helpful. He took an arrow out of the quiver to reach a branch that was just out of reach and used it to shake that branch.
The snow fell to the bottom and covered those footprints. The hyenas arrived shortly after that. Alex put his hand over Eddie’s mouth to stop him from crying out and revealing their position.
The hyenas prowled around the area for what felt like hours. They searched every nook and every cranny for the otherworlders and their animal helpers. But they did not check in the trees. And soon they left.
And all those in the tree felt relief at their absence and at the hyenas’ failure.
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