ᴏɴᴇ ᴄʜᴏɪᴄᴇ

[~Teya~]

Decided to post a little story I've been working on for awhile. Most likely, it will be composed of five chapters. c:
Critique / thoughts are very appreciated! <3

This story is based in a viscet world, you can find viscets here.

If you're curious what this story is about before you delve into reading it, it's a backstory for my existing viscet, Zabari. And how just one simple choice can change the course of your life forever. Be it for better or worse.
You'll just have to see and judge for yourselves, won't you?

[~Teya~]

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“Zabari Nazar,”
Turning his sleek, dark gray neck at the sound of his name within the ocean of casual chatter, he made his way towards where the voice had come.
“What a pleasure to see you again,” a cream colored viscet sporting a dark blue, expensive looking tux announced, tilting his martini in his direction.
The hint of a smirk came across Zabari’s face, his mind already plotting in the course of a business opportunity.
“The pleasure is all mine, I assure you, Mr. Yelna.” Zabari insisted adamantly with a calculated laugh, grabbing a cocktail from the waitress as she passed by him.
“This place truly hasn’t changed a bit since I last saw it,” Yelna mused, looking around the large room.
Adorned with a crystal chandelier in the very middle, polished marble floors and tasteful paintings, he couldn’t help but agree with the older viscet.
“My parents always did like a chance to show off the place; it is a mansion, after all,” Zabari responded, his thoughts wandering away from the present for a moment.
“Darling, there you are!” A female voice cooed, her flowing white dress touching the floor as she gracefully made her way towards her mate.
Zabari’s features immediately lit up into a smile, taking the paw now held out to him. “Shianna, I’d like to introduce Mr. Yelna—an old acquaintance of mine,”
“It’s an honor, Mr. Yelna . . . you’re quite the popular one overseas with your mining business,” Shianna remarked, giving him a once over.
Zabari chuckled. His sharp, violet eyes drifting towards the many guests at his party.
“I’ve always been simply fascinated by your work,” he complimented half mindedly, noticing an unfamiliar face within the crowd.
‘Well that’s peculiar,’ he thought, minimally puzzled. Slitting his eyes, his senses became more alert as he concentrated on the brown viscet standing alone in the corner, lavishly clothed viscets passing by them constantly without a second thought.
“Be a dear and get me and Mr. Yelna another martini, would you?” Shianna suggested, breaking Zabari’s partial daze.
“Oh! Ah—of course,” regaining his composure and nodding towards his mate and guest, Zabari quickly made his way over to the nearest waiter; who just happened to be in the direction of the unknown visitor.
“Far out party, don’t you think?”
“I’m the one who prepared it; so it’d better be,” Zabari slowly responded back to the brown viscet, taking a few steps closer to him. If this guy didn’t talk fast, he’d personally throw him out in ten seconds flat. He had a business proposition to get back to.
The brown male grinned. “I reckon you didn’t come over here for just a lazy chat,” he ventured, “unlike everyone else at this dull get-together,”
Zabari tilted his head a little, surprised this trash had the nerve to talk to a viscet of his caliber the way he was. He must have an angle to all this—in his line of work, there was always an angle.
“Cut to the chase, hotshot.” Zabari retorted, his irritation kept to a minimum. He had dealt with viscets like this before, they appeared to have spines until you pushed back harder than them.
The brown viscets’ toothy smile became clearly bigger, wiping the various food crumbs from his mothball-smelling jacket, before he graced Zabari’s ears with his words.
“I have something you might want,” he began, motioning for him to lean in closer.
Zabari wasn’t having it, crossing his arms and standing tall.
“I don’t like tricksters, Mr. . . .?”
“Names are the last thing you want right now, believe me—when you hear what I have in store for you,” the brown viscet laughed, his throat dry and cracking.
A moment later, the viscet reached into his pocket.
Zabari flinched, he couldn’t know for sure what this maniac would do.
Seeing Zabari’s hesitation, he chuckled once more, pulling out a handful of shiny-looking objects—diamonds, and holding them up to him.
He grasped, reaching for the sparkly items, almost hypnotizing if he were to stare at them long enough.
“Ah, ah, ah,” the brown scolded, placing them back deep into his pockets. Keeping one small jewel in his paw, he handed it to Zabari. “It’s real, check for yourself.”
“Why in the world would you be wearing that if these are truly genuine?” Zabari questioned, not completely convinced.
He shrugged. “I like how I live. And others ask questions and take advantage of you when you look like that,” the male countered dryly, popping a cheese cube into his mouth. “Meet me in town, behind Fawny’s bar, tomorrow—eleven o’clock sharp.”
With that, before Zabari could say anything more, the viscet made his way through the crowd, soon out of site.

[~Teya~]

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The abrupt sound of a utensil striking against a plate jolted Zabari from his muddled thoughts, quickly looking up from his place at the breakfast table.
“Earth to Zabari, good morning?” Shianna began in an agitated tone, eying him with one eyebrow raised.
“Oh, my apologies, Shi—I didn’t mean to ignore you this past morning,” he confessed, cutting into the slab of meat with eggs and spices on top.
“Is there something the matter? Halfway through the party last night you were . . . distant,” Shianna sighed, her gaze falling back to her hot plate of food.
Zabari winced a little, he hadn’t realized it had been that noticeable.
“I thought you were planning on smooth talking Yelna, too—but you barely even spoke, so I had to do all the work,” Shianna added, bitterness coming through in her words.
“I know, I know.” He moaned, “I think I was just having an off night.” Zabari admitted guiltily, reaching over to the other side of the table to touch Shianna’s paw.
She looked up once more, her expression softening. “Alright, I forgive you,” she said with a smile. But then added, her voice serious again, “just don’t do it again, that was big money you potentially lost us,”
Zabari nodded, features solemn. “You’ve always been so good to me, my dear—a guide in a world so full of unworthies,”
“It’s all for us, my darling,” Shianna responded with another bright smile, holding her fancy water glass up to his as they clinked together.
“Oh my! I almost forgot—I have a date planned with the girls, I need to run, I’ll catch you later,” Shianna announced hurriedly, rising from the table and giving Zabari a quick kiss before rushing out of the room.
Smiling to himself, he finished his meal before long, and made his way out the door to find his driver to take him into town.
‘Should I really go out to see that creep?’ Zabari pondered, two parts of his mind tearing him in both directions. He wasn’t positive the stones were real; but from what he knew, they were.
As he continued to walk around his property surrounding the mansion, he made his way through a cluster of tall pine trees, and down a small rocky path leading to where his employee’s stayed.
Almost to the group of small cabins, Zabari froze.
He hadn’t been out here in . . . months, or was it years?
Straight ahead lay a modest sized barn, weeds and shrubbery grew all around the structure; giving it an eerie feel to it. But that’s not why a shiver ran down his spine as he inched closer.
No, it was the many memories that suddenly flooded forward into the foreground of his mind and out of his subconsciousness, causing a slight pressure in his throat as his anxiety increased.
“He is probably dead by now,” Zabari murmured to himself, regret consuming him.
‘Why did I stop coming here, to see him?’ He thought, thinking back.
His parents.
He reminded him too much of them, so he had chosen to block Halima out of his mind, just like he did his mother and father.
Zabari’s pace quickened, ‘I need to know,’ he thought desperately, now sprinting towards the large, battered barn door.
“I must know,” he gasped, the door swinging open easier than he had anticipated. The familiar scents and interior of the barn hit Zabari like a brick. It was musty, but somehow, a good and very familiar kind of musty. A few of the windows had cracks or were completely smashed out. The others still standing were caked with years of dirt and grime.
‘It has been years,’ he thought with shame, an uneasy feeling coming over him.
Old tack lay on the ground. A memory flashed past his mind of when he used to play with it, pretending he was riding a horse. It was now old and ripped, blanketed with dust.
Moldy hay was positioned outside one of the stalls; the stall he remembered most.
His steps faltered, eventually making it to the stall.
He swallowed hard, putting one paw on top of the wooden door as his neck outstretched into the stall.
A large figure lay in the shadows, curled up like a monstrous-sized dog. Its antlers, like that of a moose—but a bit more slender like a deer's, moved slightly as the giant sturred, making a little tinkle sound like that of a small bell.
He remembered that bell.
“H-Halima?” Zabari whispered, half-hoping he would actually be glad to see him.
The beast sturred once more, his head suddenly moving upward to face him. Halima stood cautiously, his front paws and back hooves slowly moving forward.
Zabari sucked in a breath as Halima came into the light, he looked almost the same as he did the last time he had saw him. Except, older . . . more white in his fur and much more mangy-looking.
A gentle, welcoming murr reverberated from the Shadow Flitz’ throat, a sound that couldn’t be mistaken for anything else but his kind. It was soft, kind of like a moan of some sort, almost like a cow, but with a grace a cow could never touch.
“I’m so sorry Halima, I . . .” Zabari choked, swallowing back the sudden sting in the back of his eyes.
The story of how he and Halima had met was long and complicated, but the basics that he recalled were his parents had accidentally injured him in a car accident, and taken him home after the vet cleared him. As a child, naturally he was curious of the large animal, and soon Halima became his only true friend he could talk to—despite him not being able to actually talk.
Halima whined low, lovingly rubbing his face against Zabari’s shoulder, as if nothing had ever happened.
“Hey!” He laughed gleefully, allowing his childish side to take control. Rubbing the back of Halima’s extraordinarily long ears, he took a deep breath in, feeling like a weight he had been carrying for a long time had vanished the moment his old friend had shown he had forgiven him.
Looking at the little bell swinging back and forth, tied to the back of one of Halima’s antlers, Zabari smiled. For once, letting an old memory be remembered without ignoring it best he could. Not long after he had bonded with Halima, it was Christmas time. And his mother had found it within the decorations and had given it to him.
“Mother . . .” Zabari whispered half mindedly, not realizing he had spoken aloud.
Halima pushed him playfully with his silky nose, whining once more, like he had known what he had said.
Zabari downcast his eyes. “She was so beautiful—and, always looking out for the little guy, so . . . caring, wasn’t she, Halima?” he asked, his smile fading.
Halima nudged him once more, staring at Zabari with his coal black eyes. Despite his eyes strange nature; Zabari always found them comforting, no matter what everyone else said.
Reaching his paw out, he let his hand run through Halima’s soft, matted fur.
He caught a glimpse of his watch; letting out a groan. “Oh no,” he grumbled with annoyance, looking at the time. 10:51AM it read, he had to go.
Hesitantly, he removed his paw and took a step back, quickly heading for the door before he changed his mind. “I—I have to go,”
Halima whined loudly, banging his body against the stall door as Zabari ran out.
Failing at his attempts to block the frantic sounds out as best he could.


* * *


“Can’t you go any faster?”
“Not unless you want me to run us off the road, sir,” the driver replied in a moderate tone, not seeming to take his pleas seriously.
“Urgh—you’re worthless, I should’ve driven myself,” Zabari hissed in retaliation, crossing his arms.
“We’re entering town, sir, where would you like me to park?” The driver questioned him, ignoring his previous statement.
“Stop here. I’ll be back.” Zabari ordered, quickly opening the door and running across the busy street towards Fawny’s bar.
Once on the sidewalk, his pace slowed. Avoiding other viscets going in and out of shops and other businesses, his agitation grew. He was late, and this whole thing was probably for nothing now.
As his attention drifted, Zabari abruptly found himself colliding into another viscet.
“Hey, watch it, will ya!” The viscet growled angrily, looking up at Zabari. “Uhm, hey man. Didn’t know it was you,” he added, still slightly shook up. “That party last night was great,”
Zabari blinked a few times, getting a hold of his barings. “Hello Phil—I’m sorry, but I really got to run—”
Phil shrugged it off. “Hey man I get it, see you around.”
Zabari nodded in goodbye, hurrying on his way.
“Ah dang, wait!”
He stopped, his desperation mixed with resentment coming to a boil.
“Come hunting with me and a few of the guys on Saturday?” Phil asked, grinning big.
“I don’t hunt—”
“Oh c’mon, it’ll be fun!” Phil persisted cheerfully.
“Fine,” Zabari sighed in exasperation, just ready to get away from this guy.
Phil smirked, obviously glad to get his way. “Great! Pick ya up at 8 AM, see ya then!”
Without another word, he turned his back on Phil and walked as fast as he could to the back of Fawny’s bar, fully expecting no one to be there.
It was quiet, almost abnormally so. An assortment of trash cans and a dumpster faced the back wall of the bar, and the only way you were able to get back to the street was the way he had come: the alleyway.
“Finally decided to get outta bed, eh?” A voice muttered, a brown viscet appearing from behind the dumpster.
“And what an appropriate thing for you to hide behind.” Zabari snapped back, head held high.
“Feeling sassy today as well; what a rebel,” the brown countered with a sneer, he was definitely enjoying this, Zabari could tell.
“Let’s stop with the playground insults and get to business,” Zabari demanded, coming within a foot or two of the other viscet.
He shrugged. “Whatever you want, big boy,” the brown responded, spitting something from his mouth. “You know, I’ve always despised visctets like you,” he began, placing one paw on his chin as if in thought.
“Likewise,” Zabari retorted sharply, not sure why he was bothering with this freak.
“And you know what? I still do,” the brown continued, an uncomfortable-sounding laugh escaping him. “I don’t need anymore money, I’ve honestly got plenty . . .” his voice trailed off, taking an ungodly large wad of cash out of his pocket. “So, y’know what I’m gonna do?” he asked, looking Zabari straight in the face.
He didn’t bother giving him the pleasure of answering.
The brown smiled once more, acting as if he had Zabari wrapped around his dirty little finger. “I’m gonna give you, what made me so rich, because I’m just such a saint,”
Zabari raised an unconvinced eyebrow, even laughing. “You’ve got to be kidding,” he mumbled, rubbing his forehead, almost just to himself out of disbelief.
The brown viscet walked back behind the dumpster, momentarily emerging with something in his hand.
It took a few seconds for him to recognize what it was; a book. That’s all it was—a dumb book.
He truly had come all the way out here for nothing.
“Take it,” the male insisted, holding it out to him with a gigantic smirk.
“I’d rather jump off a bridge,” Zabari growled, looking down at the leather covered book, it must have been at least one hundred years old to have a smell like that and the cracked, ready-to-turn-to-dust look about it.
With that, he turned to leave, but not before the other viscet roughly grabbed his arm.
“If you lay another fi—!” Zabari stopped his sentence short, the brown viscet forcefully shoving the book into his other arm as a sudden, unexplainable feeling washed over him.
“I can’t wait to hear about all the trouble you get into with this book; and even me saying that won’t stop you from doing it.” The brown viscet confessed, not an ounce of pity in his sinister voice. “See you never,” he added lazily, strolling out of the alleyway with his tail dragging across the stained concrete.
But Zabari simply stood there—unable to counter the viscets’ vile words or run after him.
It was as if, the book was holding a trance over him; and he was neither afraid or angry anymore.
Only . . . calm.

[Ranger of the North]

Halima!

Also uh-oh, this can't be good :./

[~Teya~]

Halima!

Also uh-oh, this can't be good :./

I thought you might recognize him <3 ~

MWahahaha >:)

[~Teya~]

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Making his way through the thick brush and trees, Zabari was almost back to the barn, book in hand.
Opening the barn door, he quickly shut it, hoping no one had seen him enter. Exhaling, his mind was at ease once more. The peculiar sensation the book had given him had worn off—or so he thought.
“Halima, I’m back!” He announced cheerfully, walking over to his stall and gently rubbing in between the animal’s eyes.
The Flit’s eyelids drooped a moment in contentment, before looking down at Zabari’s hands.
With a screech, Halima hastily took a few awkward steps back.
“What’s the matter boy?” Zabari questioned hurriedly, looking down at the raggedy book in his hands.
Halima continued to back away, moaning and screeching uneasily. His black eyes got wide with fear.
“Oh come on. It’s just a book,” he tried to reassure him, “see, I’ll prove it,” Zabari added, unlatching the hook that held the book closed and opening it.
The whole atmosphere around the barn seemed to unexpectedly change.
Halima continued to pace around worriedly, pressing against the wall opposite from him.
He smiled, laying a paw on the old, worn pages of the book as he sorted through them; feeling an unnatural inner peace.
“So . . . unusual,” Zabari began, his voice now relaxed and leisurely. “It couldn’t hurt, trying out one of the things in here—would it, Halima?” He asked half mindedly, his smile growing.
Halima whined loudly, twitching his ears towards the sound of his voice.


* * *


“Hey, Stewart—could you pick up a few things for me in town?” Zabari asked hesitantly, looking up at the viscet as he was just about to open the ornate mahogany door to leave.
He stopped, turning back. “Sure thing, boss,” Stewart perked up, taking the list from him and glancing over it. His expression immediately changed, asking slowly, “Ahm, these are some interesting stuff . . . where exactly am I supposed to find “rat hearts”?” Stewart scratched his head, giving out a nervous laugh.
“Figure it out,” he snapped defensively, handing him two hundred dollar bills and sending him on his way before he could say anything more.
Slamming the door with a bang, Zabari sighed. Leaning his weight against the wood, he closed his tired eyes for one, sweet moment.
“Honey, what was that all about?” Came a feminine voice from upstairs.
Soon Shianna appeared as she walked down the marble staircase; every movement full of fluidness and poise.
His words wavered as his mind raced for what to say. “Uh—nothing, I was just, just talking—”
“To Stewart?” Shianna shot back a second later, putting one paw on her hip with an unimpressed look on her face.
He winced. “You heard the whole thing?”
“Yes.”
Her simple answer was like a punch to the chest.
Zabari grimaced, avoiding her steely gaze. “It was just for a surprise dinner,” he joked innocently, looking in her general direction.
“I’m sure.” Shianna remarked in a stiff tone, her expression unchanging.
‘Should I risk telling her and making her think I’m crazy?’ He thought, troubled.
“I . . . I found something. Something that could potentially allow us to never have to worry about money ever again,” he confessed, finally returning her gaze.
“And what did you find?” Shianna asked, her curiosity clearly getting the best of her as she took another step closer to him.
He hesitated, knowing how stupid it would sound at first. “A book,”
Shianna seemed taken aback a little. “A book? Have you been drinking, Zabari?”
“Yes—well, no—but it’s more than that! You just have to come and see for yourself, it’s unexplainable.” He insisted, his eyes pleading with her.
She glanced away from him for a moment, probably pondering if she should call the mental ward or take a chance. “Is this why you’ve been acting up since yesterday night?”
He smirked, knowing he really had her now. “Partially, yes—”
“Show me this book of yours, then I’ll decide if you’ll be sleeping on the couch tonight.” Shianna interrupted sternly, putting on her sunglasses.
Bowing, Zabari replied, “I promise you won’t be disappointed! Follow me,”


* * *


“Now that we have all the ingredients, we can REALLY see if this rundown thing works,” Shianna said, rubbing her paws together. “You’re up.”
Taking a deep breath in, Zabari followed along with what the book told him to do. Sometimes the letters or whole words were blurry from water damage and who knows what else, but he managed.
Staring around the dimly lit barn before adding in the final ingredient, his eyes briefly met with Halima’s, before quickly glancing away. With the flick of his wrist, the last component of the spell of sorts was complete, and all they could do now, was wait.
“How long is this supposed to take?” Shianna questioned with a bored look on her nearly flawless face.
“Any time now,” Zabari promised hopefully, biting his lower lip.
“I knew this was a waste of my time,”
“It’s not, I swear, it’ll work.”
“Stop promising things you know will never ha—”
“Look!” He exclaimed, gawking at the sudden small pile of gold coins in place of the bowl of ingredients.
“Oh my god—it worked . . . it worked!” Shianna blissfully cried out, laughing madly with Zabari. The two bent down, letting the coins drop from their paws as they gazed at the shiny objects. “Do we have enough ingredients for another spell?” Shianna inquired eagerly, keeping her eyes fixed on the gold.
“Two more, actually,” Zabari admitted, grinning big.
“Well, what are you waiting for?” Shianna asked with a smirk, getting to her feet.
Without another word, Zabari gathered up the items needed for another spell he had chosen: sapphires. Mixing things together and putting in precise amounts of rare roots and rat hearts, he couldn’t help but hear the low whine coming from the other side of the room.
Within a few minutes, everything was complete. Now all they had to do was wait once more.
Seconds later, Zabari and Shinanna watched in awe as the wooden bowl caught fire and the ingredients bubbled and hissed, soon completely disappearing into nothingness, as the sapphires of all different colors were there in the blink of an eye in their place.
“And to think we’ve been bothering with stocks and boring business deals this whole time,” Shianna remarked with a gasp in a bewildered tone, bending down once more to cradle the expensive objects.
“Shall we try the third spell?” Zabari asked with a smirk, his emotions getting the better of him as he began to laugh; the sheer strange nature of what they were truly doing beginning to sink in.
Shianna giggled with him, giddily dancing around the pile of sapphires and gold. “What is the final one for?” She questioned anxiously, her pupils enlarging with expectancy.
“Well, let's see here . . .” Zabari began, looking at the spell under the sapphire one.
But, something wasn’t right.
The words on the page looked strange, seemingly melting into each other and practically floating off the page.
He raised a confused eyebrow. “What the h—”
All of the window panes in the barn latched shut with a thud, and the structure itself began to violently shake, to the point where the floorboards were breaking apart.
Halima fearfully screeched, banging his antlers into the nearest wall as the terrified sounds that came from him echoed throughout the structure.
The outside world from beyond the barn looked to be nonexistent; when he stared out one of the windows there was nothing but black.
“This is—this is crazy!” Shianna exclaimed wildly, her voice shaking. Whirling in every direction, she sprinted for the door.
Before Zabari could stop her, Shianna attempted to force the door open, but instead of it opening, it disappeared altogether, including the windows.
There was nothing left now but a bone-chilling pitch darkness, and if the barn was still even there, they couldn’t see it.
“Shianna?” Zabari yelled out, finding it hard to breath. His words now echoed far and wide, eerily going on for much longer than it should. “Where are you? Oh god—please answer,” he begged, not even able to see himself.
“Sad, sad little viscet . . .” A peculiar female voice spoke, loud enough to be right next to his ear, but somehow sounded like they were somewhere else as well. Almost like when you talked to someone through a phone, but immensely more terrifying.
He jumped. “Wh—Who’s there?!” Zabari demanded, attempting to make his voice intimidating.
A pair of cool, blue lights flickered in front of him as he screeched out in fright.
“You have been a very bad viscet,” the light echoed, booming and close to deafening.
He hesitated, oblivious on what to say. “What do y-you mean, I haven’t done anything!”
The two lights slitted, and finally he realized what they were.
Eyes.
“Try my patience one more time, Zabari Nazar! And see where that gets you,” her voice thundered mercilessly.
“I-I’m sorry, but I didn’t know I was doing anything wrong!” Zabari pleaded, his heart beating so loud he could’ve sworn it was going to crack his ribs at any second.
The voice mumbled something to herself, then said, “you knew—they always know. Just choose to ignore it.” Her voice was like nothing he’d ever heard before, sounding both young and old, godly and peasantly.
“I-I swear—” his voice was cut short by the sudden weight pushed into his upper chest, like that of a large hand of sorts, rapidly backing up to relieve it.
The pressure stopped. “I will grant you just ONE chance to redeem yourself, young viscet,” she hissed, her otherworldly terrible eyes slitting in anger once more. “Never use the foul βιβλίο again—burn it!” The voice commanded firmly, white fire appearing in front of Zabari as all went black.

[Ranger of the North]

😱

[~Teya~]

😱

[~Teya~]

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Feeling the cold, wooden floor beneath him and a soft, warm mass laid up against his back, Zabari sturred. He opened his eyes slowly, body aching and head pounding relentlessly.
Halima softly nudged him, placing his large head on the viscets chest.
He smiled, not really caring how the animal had managed to get out of his stall. He was just glad he was there.
“Zabari, Zabari!” Came the panicked voice of Shianna from the other side of the barn.
Halima growled lowly, coming to a stand as did Zabari.
Brushing the dirt from his clothes, he asked in a concerned tone, “Are you OK, sweetheart?”
She looked almost taken aback by the question. “OK? Do I look OK after what just happened to me?!” Shianna exclaimed angrily, her usually perfect hair now matted and tangled, as well as her dress covered with filth and moldy hay.
Zabari glanced toward the ground in contemplation. “Were you there too?” He asked curiously, gazing in her direction once more.
She slit her eyes a little in thought, pondering the question. “I didn’t see you anywhere—not that I could see anything,” she sighed, her voice irritated. “It was all just—black, that’s all I remember,”
“I talked with someone,” he confessed bluntly, his expression fearful.
Shianna’s eyes grew wide.
He looked away from her, choosing to pat Halima’s silky neck instead. “They were terrifying; something you’d expect in hell, and they ordered me to burn the book.” His heart raced, even thinking of her was horrifying. “Her eyes . . . I’ll never be able to get them out of my head,” his voice shook as he swallowed hard, attempting to block the glowing blue, sinister eyes from his brain, that burned into the soul of anyone who dared to look into them.
Shianna paused, pondering his words.
“You can’t burn it.” She said simply, crossing her arms.
“What do you mean, “can’t”?” He snapped back, bewilderment washing across his features.
Shianna put a paw to her forehead, “I won’t let you, it’s worth too much,”
Shock struck him at her words, followed by an intense anger. “Are our lives worth less than the damn book?!” He blurted out furiously, taking a step closer to his mate.
She rolled her eyes, “Zabari—you know that’s not what I meant—”
“Isn’t it?” Zabari sighed, glaring at her with a disgusted look in his eyes.
“No, it’s not,” Shianna hissed, her voice clear and pronounced. “Tell you what Zabari, you do the spells and I’ll order a few of our workers to find what we need, simple as that.” She suggested, trying to sound understanding of his point of view.
He shook his head outright, “It’s not that simple—what if she comes back, and this time doesn’t play so nice,” even the thought of this made shivers run down his spine.
“I’ve supported you in all the things you’ve done, ever since we met when we were both sixteen. Well, Zabari, now it’s your turn.” Shianna countered firmly, “either do the spells, or I’m leaving,” she warned, staring into his eyes to show she wasn’t playing around.
“Why don’t you just do it?” He asked, his anger calming down for now.
“Because I’m asking you, and you’re the one that got us into this mess,” Shianna reminded him, picking out the hay from her mane.
Zabari took a long, deep breath in, feeling a sudden sting of guilt from her last words because they were true.
“Fine . . . I’ll do it.”
Shianna’s face broke out into a smile. “I knew I could count on you honey,” she said, her voice now cheery. Walking over to the barn door and opening it, she paused. “Oh, and don’t forget about that hunting trip you were invited to today—be ready in an hour.” With that, Shianna closed the barn door as he listened for her footsteps to fade away.
Halima groaned lowly, taking a step closer to him.
“Oh Halima . . .” his voice trailed off, moving his paw through the Flit’s fur.
Halima flicked his long ears towards his voice, peering into the viscet’s eyes.
“Why can’t life be simple, like it used to be when I was just a kid,” he murmured, returning the Flit’s gentle gaze. He always understood him; he just knew he did.
“Mother and father should have never gone away,” Zabari mused thoughtfully, “but . . . they weren’t happy with this sort of life, were they, Halima?”
Halima only whined, nudging Zabari in the shoulder as the bell on his antler began to jingle.
He laughed, staring up at the old bell, his expression growing somber once more. “I just wish they wouldn’t have left and gone somewhere so far away, where I’ll probably never see them again . . .” his voice trailed off, contemplating back to the last time he had spoken to either of his parents.

“What do you mean you’re not coming back home, Mother?”
“We’ve found so much here, honey, other viscets like us in need, and we can’t just leave them—”
“So I’m not good enough for you?” He rudely interrupted.
“No! Of course not, Zabari—”
“Sure . . .” he huffed, his anger bubbling over.
“Zabari, you’ll be fine with Shianna, she loves you, and I know you do too—” she paused, sighing a little. “And let’s face it, you don’t need us anymore, you’re seventeen now.”
“Well—then I don’t need you either!” With a slam, he hang up the phone, tears beginning to blur his vision.

He remembered that day well. Even if he didn’t want to.
As if sensing Zabari’s distress, Halima’s whine increased in volume, murring softly.
With one final pat, Zabari begrudgingly made his way towards the barn door, wondering if this day could get any worse.


* * *


As the truck bumped over rock to get to this very remote location Phil had mentioned, Shianna broke the silence.
“I’m so delighted for you to have invited me, Phil,” she beamed brightly, looking towards the driver's seat, as Phil continued to go faster than he should on this treacherous road.
“Eleanor needed the company!” José chirped in, glancing towards his pale orange mate with a smile.
“It’s more exciting when the wife’s come, let’s be honest here,” Phil remarked, giving out a laugh. “We get to see their reaction to the whole thing, and they never disappoint,” he added playfully, swerving a little to avoid a rabbit.
Zabari sighed, propping his elbow on the car interior below the window and placing his paw on his jaw, staring out into the thick woods wistfully.
“What about you, Zabari, excited to hunt your first ever game?” José asked with a chuckle.
He shrugged, shifting in his seat. “I probably won’t be any good at it.” Zabari said, his tone flat.
“We’re here!” Phil interrupted, the truck coming to a halt. Everyone left the vehicle, observing their surroundings.
Mountains stretched as far as the eye could see; the color blue bleeding into the farthest off mountains. Pine trees covered the hills, resulting in a faint, but comforting smell of pine in the clear air. The terrain was rock filled, and in some places, incredibly steep.
Before long, the small pack of viscets headed deeper into the plentiful forest, using what appeared to be a slender deer trail.
“Here looks good—why not try some target practice?” Phil inquired cheerfully, setting up the gear. Taking out a large rifle, he held it out to Zabari.
He paused before accepting the rifle, staring down at its steely barrel and wooden finish.
Phil set up a number of empty beer bottles on the nearest stumps before backing off. “It’s all yours, boys!”
“Why don’t you go first, Zabari,” Shianna cut in, a smirk sneaking across her lips.
Balling his fists for a moment, Zabari confidently returned her challenging gaze. “I’d be happy to,” he shot back, his voice steady and reassured. Looking back at the beer bottles, the other viscets stepped back as he raised his weapon, closing one eye.
A loud bang echoed throughout the serene mountains, a squirrel or two ran from the leaf covered ground floor and into the nearest tree, squeaking furiously at the group of viscets.
One bottle was gone, he had hit it first try.
Phil broke the sudden silence with a clap, “Well done, Zabari, great shot!” He remarked gleefully with a hint of shock in his voice.
Zabari glanced at the rifle in his hands for a moment, a smug smile breaking out onto his dark gray face.
After another twenty minutes of practicing, the viscets embarked even farther into the lush shrubbery and shady trees that bent gracefully in the growing cool wind.
José’s neck outstretched to look up at the cloudy sky, saying with disappointment in his voice, “Looks like a storm; we might not have the chance for any game today—”
“Shh!” Phil hissed lowly, holding his paw up.
Raising his gun, Phil quickly shot into the bushes, running over to them to see if he had gotten anything. “Would ya lookie there,” Phil said with a chuckle, raising up a fat looking rabbit. “At least this wasn’t a bust for all of us, eh?”
Zabari shrugged, “I’ll get something much more interesting than that, just you wait,” he remarked nonchalantly, continuing to walk.
He could’ve sworn he heard something to his side, and without hesitation Zabari shot up at a tree, only to see a squirrel scurry off, barely managing to avoid his flying bullets.
“Hah, bigger game, eh? Maybe if you want a cute hat for the lady,” Phil countered with a laugh, the other viscets joining in.
“Yeah, honey—where’s my squirrel hat?” Shianna giggled, pointing up into the pine where the cursed rodent had found refuge.
Zabari’s irritation and slight embarrassment simmered, turning away from the others as he reloaded his rifle.
As the group continued to walk quietly a few minutes later, the wind and cold started to get worse.
“So how bout it, Zabari? Think you can manage to at least get a rat?” Phil asked, a hidden layer of pleasure that he had failed in his perky voice.
Zabari rolled his eyes, choosing to ignore the question completely. He’d already had enough of this childish teasing.
“Don’t worry, hun,” Shianna joined in, her tone at first supportive, “I’m sure you’ll be able to get to Phil’s rabbit level someday,” she added with a grin.
Zabari once again ignored the comments, focusing on the task at hand.
There was a faint crunch in the distance, causing him to immediately raise his paw, signaling everyone to stop.
“Another squirrel?” José whispered in a play-pretend scared voice, giving out a low chuckle.
Moving forward, Zabari slowly but surely crested a semi steep hill. The others followed close behind, one sucking in their breath at what was standing on the other side.
“It’s a herd of Shadow Flit!” Phil exclaimed in an excitable whisper, unable to contain his excitement.
His eyes widened, staring at the clump of stunning animals as they grazed in peace.
“Well—what are you waiting for, lucky boy?” Phil asked Zabari, “you found them; they’re all yours.”
He quickly turned back to Phil in surprise, “What? Flits are endangered—and also highly protected,”
Phil waved away his words, “You care about all that mumbo jumbo? C’mon, don’t be a wimp,” he urged.
Zabari slit his eyes at the beautiful herd, consumed in thought.
“But I can’t,” he hesitated, feeling sick to his stomach at even the thought of killing such an animal.
“Oh please,” Shianna huffed, “that animal you keep in the barn has nothing to do with these Flits,”
“One Flit gone won’t be the end of the world, it’s nothin’!” José pitched in, giving Zabari a slap on the back.
Zabari winced, ‘Maybe they’re right?’ staring down at his rifle, he pondered. ‘If I don’t at least try, then one of the others will. I’ll just miss and scare them all off.’
“Alright, I’ll do it,” Zabari finally responded, a faint smirk on his face.
“That’s the spirit!” Phil whispered happily, standing off to the side of the barrel.
Raising his rifle, he decided to aim at a tree with no Flit very close.
His breathing slowed and his hands steadied, pulling the trigger back gradually.
A close to deafening boom sounded in the trees, the herd of Flit screeched and moaned frightfully as this rapidly dissipated into the woods, soon completely out of site.
“Nice shot!” Phil remarked eagerly, shaking Zabari’s shoulder in congratulations.
“. . . Huh?” Zabari responded, mystified.
He thought he had hit the tree.
Shianna cheered and clapped as the group moved down the hill to see what Zabari had hit.
‘They’ve got to be kidding, right?’ Zabari thought, his heart beginning to thud louder than the gun shot.
“I don’t know how you managed to know right when that Flit would move from behind that big oak tree!” Phil continued with a laugh.
Zabari suddenly felt as if he was in a dreamy daze as they all walked behind the large tree, but all he managed to focus on was the thin stream of dark blood that was making its way through the grass in which they walked.
There was a spot mere feet ahead of them from where there was no grass, or it was pushed down with something laying on top of it.
His heart dropped, blinking uncontrollably as the fur of the creature came into view.
“Wow, what a stunner!” Phil exclaimed, his voice full of amazement.
Zabari stopped dead in his tracks, his legs incapable of moving a single step more.
He felt sick.
He felt unclean.
Swallowing hard, he turned his head to the side, shutting his eyes tight.
“Ay, Zabari, you don’t mind if I keep it, do you?” Phil asked hopefully.
Zabari nodded, no longer able to speak.
“Thanks man! Wow—this is gonna look awesome on my living room wall.”

[Ranger of the North]

Zabari, you're more of a wimp now than if you'd never lifted that rifle 😭