At the Mountains of Madness

[Zevka]

At the Mountains of Madness


Nyika had taken Zevka completely by surprise with her feral scream, and the marteness had spent a few agonizing seconds trying to figure out what to do about it (not to mention Nyika's precarious position near the cliff), before finally settling on the tried and true "comforting words and roughing her up" method. She dragged Nyika back, then grabbed the sides of Nyika's head, forcing the distraught young wildcat to look at her.

"Nyika, please, this isn't helping! What do you see? Tell me what you see!"

"They're at the bottom of the cliff. Swarms of them, and they're all angry! They won't rest, they can't rest, and they won't let anybeast else, either."

Zevka hugged Nyika closely, hearing her gasp in pain and feeling the kitten's wet eyes press against her shoulder.

Well, if anybeast sees me like this, I can say goodbye to my intimidation factor! Zevka thought, but she didn't force Nyika away immediately.

"Nyika, I want you to do something for me: don't look over that cliff again. We have no way of climbing down there and helping anybeast. But that means something else, too: they have no way of getting up here to reach us."

Zevka held Nyika just a bit longer, before letting her go. The kitten seemed to have calmed down a bit, but still looked miserable.

Zevka, after having opened and closed her muzzle a few times while trying to think of something else to say to the poor, shivering wildcat in front of her, had finally settled on taking off her outermost cloak. Hesitatingly, she wrapped it around the kitten's shoulders.

It's a good thing I'm a pine marten, or this would be way too noble for me to stomach...

?Just remember Nyika: we're still alive. We're already doing better than most of the group...? she said, flicking a guilty glance at Poko as she said this. She gave Nyika a more stern glance.

?And if we find anybeast else, that cloak was yours all along. I'll not have beasts I don't even know declaring that I've gone soft! That's not how you want to start off a potential power struggle. Tell anybeast, and I'll have to punch you again.?

Nyika didn't look any more frightened than she had before. ?Th-thanks, Zevka. It'll be our little secret, I gue--? The kitten suddenly sucked in her breath sharply, eyes going wide as she looked past Zevka's shoulder.

?There shouldn't be this many! Why Zevka? Why did all of these beasts have to die? They weren't ready, and they're not letting go!? Nyika shouted suddenly.

Poko looked more annoyed than sympathetic at the wildcat?s continued laments. The ferret kit climbed down from the wagon and walked a few paces to put some distance between herself and Nyika, despite a pronounced limp.

Zevka winced at the kitten's distress. If it wasn't for the fact that I don't believe in ghosts, I'd be really, REALLY convinced that she was seeing them. Could I have been wrong about...no, get a grip Zevka! No such thing exists! But...I think they're real to her.

"Why did we have to come here?" Nyika shouted, her voice full of terror and frustration. Zevka winced.

Why indeed...

--

?I'm innocent, and you can't prove any of it, and nobeast will believe you! My brother falling through the ice was an accident, and that's final! I'm not going to take in his oversized brood! It's his own fault for not remarrying after Wotserface, died!? The fox stood up and slammed his paws down on the table.

The young wildcat did not back down, standing up and leaning across her table, glaring into the eyes of the much larger fox.

?Mister, you came here because you wanted to know why you're having nightmares every night, and why the sight of snow makes you queasy. Well, I'm telling you why: your brother's kits are still alive out there, but they might not make it through this winter if it keeps getting colder. He wants you and Lavsi to take them in, and he's not going to rest until you do!?

?Why would he want that? We hated each other!? the fox shouted.

?No, you hated HIM, he didn't hate you. All his life, he just wanted you to treat him like a brother, and he loved --? the adolescent feline's eyes flickered to the side as she paused midsentence; she rolled them.

?He loved Lavsi, too. He knows how much she always wanted kits, and how much it hurt her that she couldn't have them. This is his gift to her, and he hopes that maybe you'll learn to love them too.?

?I've had enough of this, you little fraud! You can tell whoever put you up to this that he wasted his coins on you. A mistake I certainly won't repeat!? The fox stormed out of Nyika's tent.

Nyika sighed, then glanced up sharply. ?Oh, be quiet, you. This is no time to be worried about keeping your little crush a secret! I know, I know, but I thought maybe he might think of her and take them anyways.?

After a long silence, a tear sprang to Nyika's eyes. ?I know, and I'm sorry! I don't know what else to?gaah! How long have you been standing there??

The pine marten who had stuck her face through the flap of Nyika's tent grinned at her surprise.

?It's a good thing I'm not here to rob you! I'd have made off with half your belongings before you reacted to me.? The marteness strolled into the tent. ?Zevka's the name. Zevka Blackbriar?

?How much did you--?

?All the way up to that little post-seance conversation you had for my benefit. I gotta hand it to you ? that was a stroke of genius. I don't think you're a seer. You're just very, very clever...?

Zevka walked closer and closer to Nyika as she spoke. She piped up again quickly as the wildcat's eyes narrowed and her ears backed. ?And I respect that. I got your name off an acquaintance of mine. And I think he pointed me in the right direction.?

Nyika's stomach growled with perfect timing.

Zevka flashed that fangy grin of hers. ?Want to go get lunch? I'm buying...?

--

Zevka watched, wide-eyed as the young wildcat in front of her tore through her food.

?I guess it's a good thing I help run this place, or I'm pretty sure my coins would be moaning in pain right now.?

Nyika looked slightly guilty. But only slightly. ?Sorry, it's just been a long time since I've eaten this much.?

Zevka chuckled. ?Not at all. Like I said, my friend and I help run this place for a certain merchant ? who is definitely not involved in anything illegal, and anybeast who says otherwise is lying! He doesn't have time to do everything himself, so he gets other beasts, like me, to run some of his businesses for him.?

?So, why did you bring me here??

Zevka turned serious. ?I came to this town with a friend of mine from home. His name is Mekad, and he's a cat, like you. A few weeks ago, our employer, Beechton Valash, got a letter from Carrigul, inviting him to go meet with some beasts there. Valash, though, has way too much work to do here to just run off on the say so of a total stranger. So he sent Mekad. A few days ago, I got this letter.?

The marteness pulled out the letter and began to read.

?My Exquisite Darling Flower Zevka,? she crooned in an exaggeratedly saccharine voice, rolling her eyes.

The marteness returned her voice to normal. ?First of all, Mekad and I are not a couple. Second, if we were a couple, and he sent me a letter this sickeningly sweet, I would go to Carrigul, punch him in the nose and ditch him. And he knows it. Anyways, he goes on for a few sentences about our imaginary romance, and then includes this little gem.?

?Do you remember the mountains from back home, Zevka? These are so much larger, and a lot colder too,? Zevka read in the same cloying voice.

?No, I don't remember the mountains back home, because there weren't any. Mekad's uncle built his fortress on land as flat as this table.? Zevka sighed and tossed the letter on the table.

?The whole thing is like that. Full of mistakes and references to things and beasts that are dead or never existed in the first place. Mekad wouldn't just write a letter like this. Something is very, very wrong. I need to go to Carrigul and find him. But I don't know anybeast there. That's where you come in.?

?Me?? Nyika looked at Zevka, face lit up with curiosity. ?Why me??

?I need somebeast with me whose really good at reading creatures, even total strangers. I was never that good with other beasts. I need you to come with me, and help me figure out who can help me, who's hiding something, who's got a nasty secret we can use. And I know you can do these things, because otherwise you couldn't do what you just did in that tent.?

Nyika shook her head. ?That's not how it works! I really can --?

Zevka sighed. ?Of course you can. Look, I don't really believe in mediums and seers and such. But clearly, something is letting you read beasts very, very well. And I need that something. A word of advice, though.?

?What??

?I've seen beasts who let their lives get ruled by things only they can see or hear or feel. And it doesn't end well, for them or anybeast around them.? Zevka held up a silver coin. ?You see, this is real. It's solid, I haven't dreamed it up. You can use it to get a meal, a roof over your head, get somebeast to fight for you, lie for you, snog you, guard your stuff, and so on. And friends -- actual friends, not just beasts you have a drink with every so often -- are real, too. There are way too many beasts out there who will slip a knife between your ribs for a copper, so when you find a beast who won't, you need to hang onto them, Nyika, because that's a rare thing."

The marteness leaned back. ?That's why I have to get Mekad. Our tails have been tied together since we were both much younger than you. And this...? she flipped the coin in her paw to Nyika. ?Is why you're going to help me. There'll be more where that came from when I find Mekad." The marteness narrowed her eyes and leaned forward

"Also, I'm going to need you to tell me some ways the beasts who kidnapped him really don't want to die, so I can know what to do to them when I find them.?

The kitten's eyes went wide. She looked up at Zevka, then looked back down, then looked at Zevka. ?But...the way there is so dangerous, and even once we get there...?

Zevka leaned forward. ?You know what else is dangerous? Being hungry. This is a break for you, Nyika, and a beast as clever as you won't pass it up. I'll be in touch.?


Zevka looked straight into Nyika's eyes. "Nyika? Before today, I would have told anybeast, without a doubt, that I do not believe in ghosts. And maybe I still don't. But they're clearly real to you. I get that now. And I'm sorry I thought that you were faking it. This...this is not an act. 'Gates, maybe I'm wrong, and ghosts do exist. In which case.."

The marteness stood up, and looked around. She started shouting.

"Hey! Deadface! Yes, you, with the broken neck and the blood! I'm talking to you, too! I have a very simple request for all of you: GO AWAY! Stop traumatizing Nyika!"

"Zevka, stop! You'll get his attention?"

Zevka ignored Nyika. "Look, I'm sorry you're dead! Really, I am! If we could help you, then we would, but this isn't Yew. Out here, Nyika cannot get in touch with your loved ones, or take care of your kits, or do anything else for you! Leave her alone! Go find a house to haunt! Go sneak into theatres without paying! Go give some kit who isn't stranded in the mountains some nightmares! But please, do it somewhere else!"

Zevka turned back, and sighed as she saw that her belligerence towards the ghosts appeared to have not had the desired effect. Her ear twitched as she watched Nyika's fear, and listened to Poko's sniffling. The marteness was fresh out of things to say.

Time to find something else to do.

?So, I can't do anything about the ghosts, you two, but we have much more corporeal things to worry about. We're not going to freeze to death out here immediately, but we need to find some wood to build a fire, or we won't last the night,? Zevka said loudly, unsure if her words were registering with either recipient. ?And we need some chow. I have a pack.?

Zevka unshouldered a tattered looking knapsack covered with snow. Her face fell. She hadn't noticed it before, but it had apparently come open in the avalanche. ?And not much else.? The marteness dug around a bit.

?Hmm...some bandages, a spare knife, some rope, a few honey-roasted crickets...? She glanced back at Nyika. The kitten looked pretty threadbare, given the patches where her coat had thinned from overlicking, and she looked like a good meal was a rarity for her.

I should really offer her some of--

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!

Everybeast except Nyika jumped at the horrific scream that burst out of the ground next to Zevka. The marteness leapt up, paws instinctively scrambling to find a tree branch, and failing. The whole effect was rather undignified.

The source of the scream was a hare in a Yew Guard outfit. They had all seen him, but taken the sword through his stomach as a sign that he was dead. Apparently he wasn't.

?AAAAAAAAGGGGGHHHHHHFATESHELPME!? The hare screamed. ?TAKE IT OUT PLEASE! TAKE IT ALL OUT! I'M BURNING UP, PLEASSEEE!!!? He tried to grasp at the sword, but screamed as the motion caused a sharp, broken bone to tear through the flesh of his arm.

Everybeast stared at the hare. Even Nyika. All three of them walked over to the hare, Nyika trying to comfort the stricken beast, Poko gnawing at her fist as she stared at the wounded beast, unable to look away, and Zevka's eyes hardening.

?We're not going to hurt you! We'll try to take the sword out...I'm sure you'll be...you'll be...? Nyika couldn't even finish her sentence. Zevka put her paw on the wildcat's good shoulder.

?Nyika. We can't help him. None of us is a healer, and even if we were...? Zevka put her other paw on the knife in her belt. ?All we can do is stop him from suffering. There's no point in drawing this out.?

"No - don't!" Poko grabbed Zevka's fur in alarm, her voice pleading, "Isn't there somethin' else we can do?"

?There's nothing we can do but put him out of his misery,? Zevka said. The marteness decided to try to put a positive spin on things. ?And we don't have much food here. At least this way, if it really comes down to it, we'll have enough to keep ourselves alive for a bit,? she said chipperly.

For some reason, this obvious benefit to the situation seemed to make both Nyika and Poko even more upset. Nyika looked sickened, and Poko covered her ears. The hare's eyes widened and he screamed even louder.

"Get away from me! I'm fine, doncha know! Fit as a flippin' fiddle and spry as --aaAIIIIIIHHHHH!!!!" The hare's increasingly delirious attempts to demonstrate just what a peak specimen of health he was had clearly backfired.

?I read once that a party of shipwrecked corsairs survived for four weeks on just the beasts who died in the shipwreck! The rest were all totally fine!? Again, Zevka's cheerfulness proved not to be infectious. She bottlebrushed her tail in frustration.

"I wouldn't want to eat food that talks," Poko said with a frown.

?Graah! I'm just trying to be positive! Work with me, you two!? Zevka threw her paws up in defeat. ?In any case, while we're talking, he's suffering. What am I supposed to do??

Poko wrung her paws. ?Can't you help him? Aren't pine martens good healers??

Zevka sighed. ?Poko, there are some injuries that nobeast can fix. His stomach is ripped apart. He can't eat, he's in horrible pain, his arm's pulverized. He's bleeding from eight places, and it's getting so that he can't even talk. This hare is not coming back. All we can do is try to make this happen with as little pain as possible.?

Zevka drew her knife.

The hare's eyes widened, but he stopped screaming for a moment, and seemed to become more lucid.

"Wait! No! I...I really think I feel better now! Any bally minute now, I'll be up and about, and then you just watch out, you crazy wench! Don't do it! I'm fine! I'm f--AIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIAAAAGGGHHHH!!!" The hare tried to raise his arms up to ward off Zevka, but had succeeded primarily in tearing his injury open wider.

Zevka just sighed and gestured at the screaming hare. "Nyika, Poko, I'm sorry, but this is just going to keep happening unless we do something about it!  For all we know, we could be the only survivors...or if there are others, we don't know how far away they are, or if they can or will help us.  Nobeast else is going to take care of this. We have to do it ourselves."

Poko gestured at the hare. "Why don't you ask if he wants to be helped that way, Zevka! He doesn't seem to want your kind of help! Maybe he just wants to live for as long as he can, even if it means being in pain."

"Yes! Listen to the green hedgeferretotter--AAAAGGGGGHHHHHH" The hare's eyes were taking on an unfocused quality, but the screams were just as sharp.

Zevka gestured at the hare. "And this proves my point. He can't even get through a sentence without screaming in agony."

"But it's still his life! If he doesn't want you to end it, then why should you? He should be able to choose! Otherwise...you might as well put her out of her misery too..." The ferret nodded at Nyika.

"Marchpane? But I want don't want to go to bed, Mama!" the hare slurred to nobeast in particular.

"That is NOT helpful right now, Poko!" Zevka snapped. Nyika, however, looked none the worse for the comment. She probably had more important things to think about. Zevka immediately felt a little bit bad for being short with a kit who had just lost her mother.

But she did kinda deserve it. Putting Nyika down! She shouldn't even be joking about that!

"Why can't you just wait?"

"Because there's no reason to wait." Zevka said, walking towards the hare with her mind made up.

"But Mama, I don't want to go yet! It's too early!" the hare said with a whimper, before letting loose another scream. He managed to choke out another sentence. "Why can't I stay without it hurting?"

Zevka moved into position.

Poko threw her paws over her eyes and turned away, bending over as if to retch. Nyika crouched at the hare's side, grabbing his face and forcing their eyes to lock as Zevka moved in behind him.

"Look at me," the wildcat said. "Look at me. Everything will be fine. You're in good paws. We'll ease your pain, comfort you, help you." Tears shimmered in her eyes, but the hare's screams had quelled to a whimpering. Closing her eyes, the tears sliding down her cheeks, Nyika pressed her forehead against his and began to sing a lullaby.

She was still singing when Zevka said, "It's done."