How do you know if you've never tried?

[Suellyn]

"'Ow'd you know, Su? You've never 'ad the guts to try anythin'. Now, if you 'ad seen what your Mamma an' I saw on the ships you'd be grateful to 'ave such nice things."

How many times had she been told that?

?Well now I've tried lots of things, Da.? She railed back at the memory. ?An' I'm quite sure that none of the experiences 'ave changed my opinions in the least.?

Rowing was every bit as grueling as she had been led to believe. Surprisingly though it hadn't seemed much worse than digging the graves for Mother and Father. She had thought of them often while she pulled the oar back and forth in rhythm with her fellow slaves.

Suellyn had no way of knowing how long it was before her back began to ache and her paws began to blister. The passage of time could not be reckoned below decks in the dark. The smell never went away: unwashed bodies, and excrement, damp fur and cloth and wood. It was the musty stench of death. Still, the mind-numbing monotony was almost comforting compared to bringing up shovelful after shovelful of wet earth only to replace it over the bodies of those who had loved her.

?Don't worry. They have to feed us sometime,? whispered her oarmate upon seeing the hogwife's tears.

Suellyn nodded. She knew her fellow slave meant well.

Yes, that's what she was now. She was a slave, like her parents had been before she was born. Like Baez was if he wasn't already . . . No, she couldn't think like that. She had to have hope.

All the slaves were offered, when it finally came time for their long awaited supper, was a stale chunk of hardtack.  Su at least attempted to choke down some of the hard, dry biscuit. As she had always been told, beggars couldn't be choosers. But after feeling something squirm against her lip,  yanking the biscuit back to see the first weevil worming its way out into the dim light of the oar deck, she passed the meager crust to the squirrelmaid beside her.

It wasn't as if she could have finished eating it after the incident anyway. That poor vole. Suellyn didn't see the beast who had done it, but she heard the scream. And oh, the blood! It was just like Father on the table back at the cabin. But she didn't cry this time. She couldn't. Maybe it was the dehydration or maybe she was just becoming desensitized to it. Spikes! She hoped not.

Back to rowing. Back and forth. Back and forth. How many days had she been at this? Or had it been weeks? Seasons?

Then everything was confusion.  There was that scraping sound, a crash, water swiftly rising, screaming. The slavemaster bolted out of the hold but some other beast stopped him on the stairs and sent him back down to unchain his charges. 

When the shackles fell, there was no time for thought or fear, only everybeast running for their lives, up to the deck to light and air and safety. But there was no safety here either. Only the vermin crewbeasts were allowed a space in the few dingies available. The slaves had to fend for themselves.

Su didn't know how to swim. Like the rest of them she screamed and pleaded, ?Take us with you! Don't leave us to die!? But nobeast listened. In the end she was knocked overboard by some frantic otter.

You would think, knowing how to swim would make them more help in a situation like this, the hogwife thought angrily as the water closed over her headspikes. Flailing and grasping proved instrumental. Her paws closed around a piece of an oar floating by. Then all she could do was hold on and hope for the best.

~ ~ ~

And now she was alone, really and truly alone. Everybeast who she had ever cared for, the parents who abandoned her, the husband who was taken away, the in-laws who were murdered, and now an entire ship full of creatures including the stoat whom she had made it her mission to care for until the birth of her whelps; they were all gone.

All she could hear was the slap of the waves on the shore and . . . and somebeast calling out. Could some other beast have survived the crash and made it to shore? Suellyn pulled herself up to her footpaws and stumbled over the dunes. There over a low rise were not only one but dozens creatures attempting to regain their breath and their bearings.

The hogwife could have almost shouted for joy before she noticed that quite a few of her fellow slaves had been rounded up and were back in chains. Even here in seasons only knew what part of the world,  the vermin couldn't put the old prejudices behind them.

There were quite a few of them milling around as well. Suellyn immediately began scanning among them for Revel. Though she saw several others that she thought she might have recognized from that awful night at the pub she did not at first see the stoatess. Then near two other scarred mustelids she caught sight of the expecting mother lying on the sand.

Without a thought for her own safety, the protective hedgehog scurried across the beach. She dropped down beside Revel and swept a paw over the stoatmaid's brow.

?What've you done to 'er?? Suellyn glared up at the disfigured pair.

The male, a one-eyed ferret, seemed to find hedgehog's antics humorous. ?Done? We got her out of the brig and up to the beach if that's what you mean.?

?There was a shipwreck, in case you weren't aware,? the female huffed. She was some sort of weasel, Su thought, though her tail was awfully bushy for a weasel. The, whatever-she-was, was not amused but with a sigh she added, ?She hit her head and hasn't woken yet.?

The hogwife ignored them after this and fussed over Revel. She dipped her apron into a bit of water that had collected in the sand and bathed the expectant mother's face.

?By the spikes, if anythin' happens to her or those kits, well, I'll . . .? Suellyn didn't know what she would do.

?Don' you worry, Miz Rev,? the hogwife crooned by way of reassuring herself. ?Your liddle'uns are gonna be just fine. You're strong an' well an' you'll carry 'em just fine.? Not like me. Not like . . . She had no more tears but her eyes stung. How could she morn a Dibbun who never was?

?Why isn't this one in line with the others?? A gruff voice from behind Su made her look up. It was a stoat. ?Not that she's good for much. Thin as a rail, this one.?

The hogwife bristled and straightened her back. ?That's quite a thing for you to say, sir. Your lot would work any poor creature to death.?

The stoat drew back his paw to slap her but stopped just short.

?Oi. Dreamed it was talkin' again.? Revel sat up and rubbed at a large lump between her ears.

Su gave a relieved sigh. ?Oh Miz Rev, you're awake.?

?No, 'm still dreamin'.? the stoatmaid began to sniff at her surroundings. "Funny dirt, isn't this?"

?No,? the hogwife chuckled. The sound was foreign in her own ears. ?You're awake an' I'm here now to help you get ready for those kits.?

?Kits?" A look of confusion crossed the stoat's face before it came back to her. "Don't be silly, you stupid 'edgehog. I'm not 'avin' no kits!?

Suellyn started to protest but she was shoved back as Revel jumped up and concentrated her sniffing on the stoat.

The male took a startled step back. ?Now don't you start that again, wench!?

The stoatmaid reached out and touched the side of his muzzle where several whiskers seemed to be missing. Nivard flinched, but held his ground. Then she turned unexpectedly on the weaselish female, ?Was he the one wat you bit, Pine??

Pine?

?My name is not 'Pine'! It's Eliza. And yes I did bite that haughty, sneering toad.?

She's a pine marten, the hogwife realized, and then quickly stepped between the two mustelid females. ?Come now, ladies. . .?

?I'd bite your face back, but there's nothin' left to chew off!?

"Why in Hellgates would you stick up for an arrogant brute like that?"

"'E's not an arrogant brute, 'e's 'andsome an' brave an' I like 'im!"

?Restrain those two!? The whisker-less stoat pushed the scarred ferret forward.

The ferret frowned and crossed his arms over his chest. ?We're not on your boat anymore, Nivard. I don't have to take orders from you.?

?Then, you,? Nivard grabbed the arm of a laughing wildcat behind him and pulled him forward.

?You couldn't pay me enough to get between those two when they're riled, mate,? The cat grinned.

The stoat looked as if he was also wary of stepping in the middle of the fight. ?Feh. Then take the 'edgepig o'er an' chain 'er up wid th'other slaves.?

?I'm not leaving Miz Rev,? Su spoke up.

?Aww let her be,? the cat shrugged. ?Doesn't look like she'll last long on the trip through the desert anyway.?

?Fine,? Nivard ground his teeth. ?But we'll be marching soon, so be ready! Stragglers will be left be'ind.?

They all watched the stoat leave and then the wildcat broke the silence.

?So Rath,? He produces a bag from over his shoulder. ?I was able to procure some provisions for our little crew here.?

Suellyn looked around and realized that the cat was addressing the ferret. So his name was Rath. She filled that away with the knowledge that the pine marten's name was Eliza.

The cat reached into the bag and began tossing out apples to each of them.

?'Scuse me, sir,? the hogwife addressed him after making sure that the two females were not still at each other's throats. ?Thank you for stickin' up for me back there.?

?Yeah well,? He looked a little uncomfortable. ?What I said was true.? He gave her an apple. ?You really should, eat somethin'.?

?Thank you.? Su took it and looked at it, wondering if it was as wormy as the bread was on the ship. ?Could you tell me your name please, sir??

?It's Keane, and don't call me sir. Just try to keep up.?

~ ~ ~

Keeping up was harder than Suellyn had ever thought possible. Oh she started out fine: staying right by Revel's side and continuously asking if the stoatmaid was well or if she needed any help. But then she got the distinct feeling that the expectant mother needed some space. So the hogwife dropped back a bit.

Then the wind picked up and the first sandstorm washed over them. The hedgehog's spines collected an unbelievable amount of the stuff. She tried to shake it off, but the sand added a great deal of weight to her already tired footpaws.

Her joints ached in the heat, her fur itched, and her mouth was so dry that her tongue felt swollen and sticky. Now she was experiencing a different sort of monotony, one of sand and sky and plodding along with one footpaw determinedly placed after the other. Soon she found that she had been left far behind and all there was to do was to keep going, even though that dark smudge on the horizon that somebeast had thought was a sheltering cliff, never got any closer.

It wasn't till after dark on the . . . (how many days had it been now?)  that she finally caught up with the rest. It was really an accident really. She thought she had heard a scream but had chalked it up to the wind howling or only her imagination. Then she ran into something solid. It turned out to be a squrrelmaid.

There was a clink of chains. Su had found the slave line.

?Who's there??

?It's me, Su.? her voice was raw from disuse and dry as dust.

?Su the hedgehog? We thought you were dead.?

She tried to swallow. ?What's goin' on??

?There was a lizard, a monitor I think. It killed an ottermaid.?

Maybe the one who had pushed her overboard. The hogwife thought vaguely. But then maybe the screamin' I had heard was real. ?Did they catch it??

?Yeah, the captain, Matukhana, he questioned the beast. He said he was just hungry. But he said he knew where there was water, enough for all of us.?

?Water?? The word sounded so beautiful. Suellyn smiled with cracked lips.  ?I've gotta tell Revel.?