The Breaking Point

[Vera Silvertooth]

Vera?s paw trembled as she stared at the child?s drawing. When Fildering had talked about his sister earlier in the jungle, Vera pictured an older, bossy sister.

He had a little sister...

Somewhere out there, Fildering had a little sister, one he obviously loved, if he carried the drawing with him all this way. Somewhere back in Mossflower, there was a little haremaid who loved her big brother.

A big brother that she?d never see again.

Vera swallowed the huge lump in her throat as the memory of her own brother surfaced. The adoration of a little sister never really went away. Very carefully, she folded the paper back up. She reached under her poor, tattered apron and slid it into the hidden pocket.

Every little sister needed to know her big brother was brave and strong.

The vixen very slowly pushed herself to her feet. She limped her way back up the beach towards the others as the chilly night wind dried the fur on her cheeks.

Why didn?t I do something? He saved my life. He helped me. Why couldn?t I have done the same?

There had been no time. Murdin had moved before Vera could so much as draw breath. She?d been more worried about Ciera. She?d taken a step towards the ferret, just before Murdin had moved.

Vera could see Ciera and Murdin picking through the weapons that were left behind when the snakes had dragged off the Waverunners. Scully sat by himself, still sniffling.

He?s just a kid. Not much older than I was...

Anger steadied her step and she stalked up to Murdin and gave him a hard shove in the back. ?You moldy pile of kitchen scraps! Why did you do that??

Murdin staggered, then turned. He drew his cutlass. ?Ye wanna make somethin? of it there, cooky.?

?Vera,? Ciera began, a warning in her tone.

Vera turned on her former captain. ?I?m sick of you pirates! All of you! Fildering never did anything wrong. He didn?t deserve that. He took on a snake! By himself! He was more a warrior than any of you traitorous pirate scum.?

Ciera backhanded her hard, sending her sprawling into the sand.

?That is enough!? Ciera snarled.

Vera pressed a paw to her muzzle. She could taste blood. But Ciera?s blow cleared her head. That was stupid... I?m lucky she didn?t just run me through. In her short time aboard the Silver Maiden, Vera had seen crew killed for less.  ?I?m sorry, Ciera. It?s just that...?

?That?s Captain Ancora to you!? Ciera said.

Vera fixed her eyes on the sand. ?Aye. Captain.?

Ciera leaned close, her breath hot in the vixen?s face. ?Do you want to die here, Vera? Do you ever want to feel Mossflower under your paws again? Because there's no way that your mate Fildering would have let us aboard a Waverunner vessel. One word from him, and we'd have been stuck here."

?But I thought that was your plan when we first landed,? Vera said meekly, and then added, ?Captain.?

Ciera looked over the pitiful remains of her crew. "That was the plan. Unfortunately, we've got a more immediate problem to deal with. We were captured by snakes, and they seem to think that Mister Craws is a messenger from some "fire god." They've tasked us with brokering a truce from this god's followers. They're watching us right now to make sure that we get the job done correctly. Being eaten by snakes is a more immediate threat than starving to death on this Fates-forsaken island, so we're going to worry about this bloody peace treaty first, and hitching a ride second. Understand?" Ciera placed a paw on the hilt of a cutlass she?d picked up from the beach.

?I... Yes, Captain Ancora,? she said, knowing any other answer would leave her as dead as Fildering.

Ciera straightened her jerkin. ?We?ve still got some time before daylight. Get some sleep while you can.?

Scully looked up at her, ?Um, Captain. Could we, you know, bury Fildering first? He...?

?Was the enemy, Mister Craws. The sooner you realize that, the better. Besides, digging a grave will take too long. We?ve got a long trek ahead of us tomorrow and I won?t have beasts lagging behind because they didn?t get sleep when they had the chance.?

Under Ciera?s watchful eye, the bare remains of the pirate crew bedded down as best they could in the sand. Vera glanced towards the jungle, uncertain if she?d sleep for fear of snakes. No one on this beach would care if another serpent decided to see what fox tasted like.

She must have fallen asleep, because she sat up suddenly, heart racing at some half-remembered dream. She looked around. Dawn colored the sky. Murdin and Ciera both slept. Scully?s space lay empty, but she spied him over where they?d left Fildering?s body.

He was digging.

Stubborn leveret, Vera thought as she lay back down and closed her eyes. She could hear the scrape of his paws in the damp sand and thought she heard sniffling in between. She opened her eyes and lifted her head once more. Then she sighed and climbed wearily to her feet. Her leg ached as she limped over to him.

?You should be asleep,? she said.

?I don?t care,? he sniffed. ?I don?t care what the Captain says. He was my friend. I can?t... I won?t just leave him here like this.?

Vera looked at the shallow hole the young hare had managed to scratch out so far with his bare paws. ?You don?t have time for this. Ciera?s going to wake up soon and we?re going to get moving. She won?t let you finish.?

He kept digging stubbornly.

Vera sighed and looked out to sea. Even if I helped him, we won?t get done in time. We?ll just wear ourselves out. Her eyes fell on the boat that had brought them here from the Silver Maiden. High tide had beached it, but now the waves were receding little by little down the beach. It gave her an idea.

She cleared her throat. ?I spent half a season living with a tribe of shrews once, not long after I left home. Learned to bake shrew bread from them. While I was there, one of their old warriors died.? She slowly crouched down to lean close to Scully, wincing as her leg twinged. ?Shrews don?t bury their dead, you know. They put them in a logboat and send them down the river.?

Scully paused in his digging and looked up at her. She continued, ?There?s more than one way to deal with the dead, Scully. We?ve got a boat right here, and I think the tide is going out. Do you think a water burial would be all right??

Scully looked at the boat, then at Fildering, and back to the boat. ?I guess so.?

?Help me move him then.?

Between the two of them, they got the dead hare into the little ship?s boat and arranged him carefully in the bottom. Scully trotted away for a moment and Vera smoothed down part of Fildering?s bloodstained uniform.

I wonder if we could have been friends. It?s been too long since I had one.

She climbed out of the boat and pulled her apron off so it would stay safe and dry above the tide line while they pushed the boat. Scully returned with an unclaimed cutlass. He placed it beside Fildering so it was close to paw. Then the two of them slowly pushed the boat back into the sea. A wave swelled and Vera hung onto the side as it floated free of the sandy bottom. They waded in up to their waists. She felt the pull of the receding tide.

?On the count of three, give it a good hard push. All right??

Scully nodded.

?One. Two. Three.?

The hare and fox shoved together and the little boat glided away.

Vera limped back to dry land and picked up her apron. She glanced back at Scully, who stopped at the edge of the surf, staring after the little boat as it bobbed further and further away. She heard him recite softly.

?Listen lost friends,
we'll meet again.
When the game ends,
then we go home.
Let's hope it's soon,
please come back soon.?

The vixen cleared her throat roughly. ?You should get some sleep while you still can.?

He nodded wearily and they walked back up the beach. As they approached Ciera and Murdin, Vera grabbed him by the arm and whispered, ?Listen to me. Fildering was a rare beast. You don?t find his type very often.? She looked at the two slumbering pirates, then leaned closer. ?Be very careful who you decide to trust.?

The young hare blinked a few times and nodded somberly. Satisfied, she released his arm and they both lied back down in the sand. Vera folded her apron carefully, mindful of the paper in the hidden pocket, and used it as a pillow. Thinking of the paper prompted something else in her memory that had been shoved aside by the tragedy of the night.

?Say, Scully,? she whispered. ?Do you have my necklace? I thought I saw it before Fildering and I got out of the boat.?

He shook his head. ?The Captain took it.?

Vera hissed softly through her teeth. ?Okay.? Darn that ferret...

Scully curled up facing her, pillowing his head on his arm. ?So, you lived among shrews??

She shifted in the sand, trying to get comfortable. ?Yes.?

?Why?d they, um, let you stay??

?I can be very persuasive.? She closed her eyes, hoping the young hare would get the hint.

?Why?d you want to stay??

?Scully, go to sleep.?

?But...?

She opened her eyes and glared. ?Sleep, hare! You can chatter my ear off in the morning.?

She heard him sigh, roll over, and mutter, ?It kinda is morning...?

Full daylight, you little fuzz brain. After I?ve gotten some rest and figured out how I?m going to get my amulet back from Ciera.

***

A footpaw prodding her in the ribs jarred Vera awake. She looked up into the hard eyes of Ciera Ancora. ?Good morning, Captain. Sleep well?? She plastered on a pleasant smile.

?Tell me, Vera,? Ciera said and a chill ran down Vera?s spine. ?What happened to the ship?s boat that was on the beach a few hours ago??

Vera?s smile faltered and she glanced across the sunny beach to where her and Scully had worked in the early dawn light. In the sand left damp by the receding tide, two pairs of footprints, fox and hare, could be seen. She licked dry lips. ?Um, we... I... suggested we give Fildering a sea burial.?

She yipped in pain as Ciera grabbed her by the shoulder, digging her sharp claws into Vera?s skin. "Did it ever occur to you that we might have needed that boat? We? Us? The beasts who are still alive? As opposed to the dead hare who is dead?"

Ciera shoved Vera back down. The vixen stared wide eyed. I didn?t think of that. Why didn?t I think of that!

Murdin snickered from where he lay stretched out in the sand. ?Ahoy, Captain. I think yer backstabbing cook may need a lesson or two t? drive the message home that ye be captain an? not ?er, aye? A lashin? or two? Take a length off o? that pretty tail? Maybe stake ?er out an? let the tide run over ?er??

Scully squeaked softly and hunched down in the sand as if he were the one about to receive the captain?s wrath.

Ciera looked to Murdin and then back to Vera. ?Perhaps...? She drew her cutlass.

The vixen opened her mouth, trying to get her exhausted mind to catch up with the events, but nothing seemed to come out. She scrambled back through the sand, her wounded leg crying out at the strain.

Ciera?s cutlass hovered in her view. ?Remind me why I hired you again, Miss Silvertooth??

Vera found her voice and it was a pitiful little thing. ?Because you needed a cook.?

?Right.? The ferret leaned down. ?So perhaps you better turn your attention to being just a cook and keep your paws out of everything else. The only reason I?m not giving you what you so rightly deserve is because right now, I need every able bodied beast I can muster.? Ciera glanced down at Vera?s wounded leg. ?Even if one barely qualifies for that. You are in dangerous waters, Miss Silvertooth. Tread carefully.? Ciera stepped back and replaced her sword in her belt. Vera sagged into the sand with a shuddering gasp.

Captain Ciera said, ?On your feet, crew. We?re going to comb this beach for something to eat before we go looking for Scully?s fire god.?

Vera?s trembling paw found her apron and she stumbled to her feet before shaking the sand from the tattered garment. She slipped the neck loop of her apron over her head and tied the strings behind her back. She smoothed the front down out of habit, momentarily shocked at the soft crinkle of Fildering?s paper in the hidden pocket, instead of the cool, solid amulet she?d grown so used to feeling.

Well, I am definitely not bringing THAT up right now. She glanced over her shoulder and noticed Ciera watching her with that cold, flat stare. Clearing her throat, Vera looked about the beach and noticed some rocks the low tide had bared on the beach. Slowly she limped down there to see if there were tidal pools that had left any fish behind.

Right. I?m still alive. I can play this game. Patience. Get Ciera to trust me again. Start there.