The Bonding Chronicles Ch. 16

If the wolf was intending to catch and kill him, then the beast would expect him to act as he always had. That meant — much to Thunderfoot's dismay — that the wolf was probably hidden somewhere between him and his companions, because before that night he would have ran directly towards them, seeking the safety and protection of his herd without giving a second thought to the dangers that may reside between.

His heart raced as his eyes darted from side to side, searching for any clue that might reveal the location of the treacherous wolf, and after another short beat of his pounding heart he knew he could not just stand there. The problem he faced, was that he could not just sprint off in any random direction, because if he found the wolf laying in his path, it would spell his immediate doom.

Thunderfoot's whiskers danced as he twisted his mouth in thought, and then realization struck.

His chortling cry danced between the trees, revealing his exact location to the wolf, which he suspected was already nearby, aware of where he had been hiding anyway. More importantly, his siren call told the formidable catwoman where he was. In that moment he knew that the race was on, because as he glimpsed the redhead off in the distance vanish from the narrow angle with which he had been watching her, he also saw a shadow lumber between two trees, narrowing the distance between them. Had he not been expecting it, he could have mistaken the movement as a stray breeze rustling through the brush — such was the prodigious skill of their silent foe.

Thunderfoot took off like a bolt of lightning, his hind legs propelling him forward with tremendous power and speed. He chose to not move directly towards his companion, but at an angle, which he hoped would keep the wolf from reaching him before the catwoman could get there. The sad truth was, the wolf was just as fast as he was, the game of life and death that their species had been waging for millennia guaranteeing that neither held the upper hand, and while he had never understood that before, he became far too familiar with the idea as he heard the fearsome hunter lunge out from behind a tree, just missing his hind leg in a valiant attempt to seize him.

The loud crack of snapping and gnashing teeth was a frightful sound that Thunderfoot had hoped to never hear again. The damnable wolf had narrowed more distance than he had expected, and unlike the last time the beast had chased him, the wolf was still at full strength, almost guaranteeing that the race would be short lived.

Every path that sprawled out before them was far too open, with nary an obstacle or obstruction to aid him in his escape. He had, by his estimation, about four or five yards before the wolf would catch and kill him, not enough distance to bridge the gap between them and his companion.

It was in that frightful moment when the large rabbit understood what he must do, and the spark of defiance which he had cast earlier that night took flame, causing the jackalope to snort and shake his head from side to side as he resolved himself on his foolish course of action.

With a mighty leap, Thunderfoot bounded forward, his hind legs lifting off the ground and curling up into his body a moment before the wolf's snarling mouth snapped shut where they had just been planted. It was a narrow miss, but a vital break for the lucky creature, whose body twisted mid-flight, and as the jackalope's powerful hind claws dug into the dense topsoil and roots, the wolf came face to face with the rabbit's antlers.

Wildfang had never seen a jackalope perform such a feat, and never in a thousand lifetimes would he have predicted it, but as his momentum carried him towards the sharp and plentiful points of his would be prey, he was forced to admit the cunning brilliance of the gamble. He dropped his head to the side, knowing that he could not stop his weight from carrying him into the jackalopes thorny embrace, and found himself dismayed as he did the one and only thing he could think to do.

He leaned his shoulder into the attack, twisting his body and forcing himself into a sideways tumble that directed the first set of spear like horns into his shoulder, where his muscle and bone would, he hoped, prevent the animals weapon from killing him. Once again, he felt the searing pain as point after point of the jackalope's horns sank into his body. He expected his profound mass to smash into the small rabbit, causing them to both tumble to the ground in a heap, but instead, his side slammed into the other set of antlers, breaking several ribs and piercing numerous organs, and to his confusion the mighty jackalope seemed to hold him off the ground, sliding several feet back as the force of their impact was buried into the earth, leaving a pair of deep furrows through dirt and stone.

By the time they came to a stop, Thunderfoot's shoulders and legs were on fire, his muscles straining against the feat he had just accomplished, and upon his broad antlers rested the wolf, a mighty and formidable beast which jerked and shook, barking out with terrible rage. The moment the beast touched the ground it snarled and growled as it strove to pry itself from Thunderfoot's broad weapon.

A sickening splurch declared their release, and despite his exhaustion, Thunderfoot managed to brandish his horns, attempting to keep the wolf at bay. The limping fatigue that spoke of the wolf's wounds were quickly relieved as the scent of magic carried into the breeze. Thunderfoot thought he saw the muscles across the wolf's body diminish ever so slightly as the mighty beast's bleeding came to a sudden stop, but the thought was quickly lost as the fight carried on.

The catwoman was still a few seconds away, and though he was fighting valiantly, Thunderfoot knew that the wolf had the upper-hand. It only took a couple of feints for the great hunter to cause Thunderfoot to extend his antlers too far to one side, and in that brief moment all was lost.

Thunderfoot's front leg was caught in the wolf's mouth, and through the tremendous force that was brought to bear upon his limb, bone broke and muscles tore. The beast was furious, and in that cauldron of rage erupted a maelstrom of violence. The wolf seemed to avoid ending his life, instead taking great joy in his panic and fear, allowing Thunderfoot one attempt to bound away, just to catch him by his muscular thigh. That moment of hope seemed to fuel the wolf, who growled with joy at the torment and dread within Thunderfoot's terrified gaze.

The redheaded woman was gone, and in her place appeared an amber and black spotted ocelot who rounded a tree a dozen yards away. A mighty and terrible roar thundered out from the ferocious woman, whose gait faltered as she witnessed the massive wolf bite down upon the noble rabbit. Sara's roar became a hissing growl, her grief and powerful anger resonating within the fearsome sound as her heart skipped a beat, and just as suddenly the once proud rabbit was deprived of yet another of its limbs — one of its large and powerful hind legs. She was horrified, shocked by the cruelty and ease with which the wolf had just dismembered her friend. The beast turned, and for a moment Sara locked eyes with the evil monster, joy and sadistic satisfaction blazing like an inferno behind the loathsome creatures gaze, stopping her in her tracks.

Just as Sara began to consider just how easily the monster could end Thunderfoot's life, the wolf took off, the rabbit's leg still clutched in its mouth, and Sara was forced to make a gruesome decision — does she chase after the wolf, or attempt to help her downed compatriot?

Just like any moral being, Sara knew what she should do, she needed to be there with her new friend, even if there was no way she could help him — he needed to know that he was not alone. But, there was a part of her that she struggled to deny, an instinctual drive that begged for retribution. Her body shook with the pain of her decision, her gaze still following the shadow of the wolf as it darted and dashed away, until she arrived at Thunderfoot, the majestic creature shivering from shock.

The wounds were clean and deliberate, frayed flesh hanging from the stumps where limbs had once stood, but unlike the wolf's previous attacks there was no other damage. There was panic and fear in the rabbit's dark eyes, the innocence of its gaze making the scene all the more terrible for Sara, who could not believe how cold the animal felt as she caressed him with the side of her feline face. It took her a few seconds to shift back into her human form, before she lifted and cradled the shivering creature in her arms.

Sara could feel something within Thunderfoot stir, and struggled to make sense of the unfamiliar sensation as eddies of eldritch potential built up and poured out from deep within the jackalope's body. It was not something she could see, but something she felt within the creature, her mind interpreting it as a pocket of fast moving water through a slow and steady stream. It was part of the jackalope, but it was also something mystical and foreign. Thunderfoot closed his eyes, and for a brief moment Sara could sense that the rabbit was focusing on his wounds.

The energy flowed out from that bubbling source deep within him, and coursed towards his missing limbs. Sara watched, feeling the heat return to the large animal as its heartbeat became stronger and more steady. She expected to see the bones begin to grow out, before muscles and tissues reached out to join them, just as she had seen when Karen had healed Tani'm's hand those nights before, but instead she was saddened to see that the tissues healed over Thunderfoot's stumps, leaving furry scarred flesh where his missing limbs would forever be lost.

Sara didn't understand, why couldn't Thunderfoot regrow his limbs just as Karen could? What kind of life could the rabbit have with his right arm and leg missing? The joyful look on the wolf's face revisited her then, evil and gleeful at what it had done, and only with what she had just discovered did she fully understand why the wolf had been so satisfied by its actions.

Tani'm came up to them then, her shoulders slumped by what she saw, and her heart made heavy by the weight of Thunderfoot's despair. The jackalope knew all too well the death sentence that had just been delivered upon him, and it was worse than anything he had ever imagined.

In his heart, he was preparing to waste away, wither and decay through a slow and painful death. Within her mind, Tani'm saw the path that stood before him, weeks, perhaps months of slow and gradual starvation. His magic attempting to make up for the food he would be denied, keeping him alive far beyond the point where death would be a welcome relief. A tear fell from his eye, as Thunderfoot wished the wolf had ripped out his throat, tore off his head or ripped out his heart, anything would have been better than the fate that loomed before him.

There was something else though, a whisper of love and longing that Tani'm could feel tucked away deep within the rabbit. As she cupped the side of his furry face with her hand, she got a clear vision of several small baby rabbits nestled up against their mother, and for once she understood the many journeys that the jackalope had made into the forest while she worked on other tasks.

It was a gruesome discovery, because Tani'm had just realized that Thunderfoot was bound to his mate, who rested within their burrow in some far off place. She could feel the female jackalope's heartache and despair, and came to understand that his suffering had been relayed to her despite the vast distance that separated them. Thunderfoot's doe was strong and powerful, just like her buck, but even still, she struggled to keep her own turmoil from bleeding out to their kits, who whimpered and cried at the shadow of what they felt from their mother.

"We have to get Karen," Tani'm declared, her throat tensing against the grief of everything she now knew.

Sara and Thunderfoot looked up at her, questions radiating out from their combined gaze. They could almost see the plan that the woman was formulating as her eyes jumped and darted between the trees. Shaking her head, Tani'm ran her hand over the stump where Thunderfoot's front leg had once extended, sighing and trying to fight back her tears.

"She's the only person that can heal this, and if we try and take him to her, the wolf will kill us all."

"But," Sara began, her words ladened with worry, "we can't just leave him here. The wolf'll just finish what it began."

Thunderfoot twisted and chortled within Sara's arms, staring at Tani'm and making his agreement with her plan clear.

"You don't understand, Thunderfoot expects to die of starvation, and for him that means weeks to months of his body slowly wasting away as his magical nature tries to keep him alive. I think the wolf knew that would be his fate, which was why it didn't try to stop him from healing, and why it left him like this."

Her statement ended with a choking gasp as the small woman struggled to finish everything she needed to say. How could she make Sara understand just how terrible a death that would be?

"I'm not sure how, but I can tell that he's connected to his mate, and..." A single tear fell from her eye as she looked off in the distance, as if the darkness of the forest could somehow make the truth less painful. "And their newborn children. For fucks sake, that monster wants them all to suffer through... through..."

Tani'm broke down then, her body quivering and shaking as she dropped to her knees. She knew that they would be able to keep Thunderfoot alive, and that neither he or his family would have to suffer through what they all feared, but there was a wild freedom that her companion craved, a primal need that would never be fulfilled with that life. Of course, if they could just survive the night, Karen would be able to heal him, restore his limbs and then-

"How long would it take to get to where the wolf almost killed you?"

Sara's question broke Tani'm from her train of thought, the unexpectedness of the query causing her to stare at the lithe woman with startled confusion.

After blinking away her tears, she responded, "Ummm... I don't know, maybe ten minutes for the two of us."

"I know you think that the wolf wants this little guy-"

Thunderfoot turned his head and slapped Sara lightly in the face with the side of his antlers, the wolfs blood smearing across her cheek, and as she looked down she was surprised to see annoyance in the large rabbits eyes. Sara and Tani'm were both startled by the level of understanding that the supernatural animal had gained, his annoyance at how Sara had referred to him evident in the glare he gave her.

"Sorry, this mighty warrior."

Thunderfoot chortled his approval of her revised wording, causing the two women to release a slight but welcomed chuckle. For Tani'm, it was a sweet and nurturing balm that helped her to let go of all her worry — somehow, the sudden shift in the wounded rabbit's attitude helped her to hope that they would get through this.

"Anyways, if we weren't here, I would agree, that evil bastard would probably love for Thunderfoot to suffer as much as possible. But, think about everything that it has done. So far, every action has been a cold and calculated move to try and kill each of us."

Tani'm thought for a moment, and was forced to admit that Sara was right. The wolf, at every step of their confrontation, had never made a move that did not aim towards something, and almost every time she acted without first thinking, the consequences had been dire. She was beginning to remember those hunters who had given their lives so needlessly just a few days back, when Sara spoke up.

"The fact is, if we leave him here, then the wolf will probably take more of Thunderfoot's limbs, and eventually take his life."

Thunderfoot's eyes grew wide as the truth of her statement flashed before him, and as he locked his gaze with Tani'm, they both knew she was right.

"If we take him with us, the wolf will use his presence to push for advantage, forcing us into compromising positions, and helping to guarantee that he can score hits that otherwise would never happen."

Tani'm again recognized the wisdom in Sara's conclusion, and her shoulders once more drooped as all seemed lost. But then, as despair began to peek from around the corner, Sara's earlier question came back to the forefront of Tani'm's thoughts. Her eyes returned to the wild woman, and for the first time since she had found them there together, she was no longer focused on Thunderfoot and the terrible wounds he had suffered.

Her eyes narrowed as she took in the strong woman's shoulder, the wound which had previously been so grievous seemed somehow healed, scar tissue the only sign that anything had ever been wrong.

"What is Andrew planning?"

Sara smiled while she caressed Thunderfoot's neck, the rabbit allowing the gesture to distract him from everything that was happening around him.

"An ambush, I guess. We didn't really have a ton of time to talk before that bear came charging in."

Tani'm shook her head, marveling at how strange her life had become. It had never been what anyone would consider normal, but it had been hers, and now with the wolf and that strange supernatural family, she had a hard time imagining how it would ever return to what she had grown accustomed to.

"Karen will probably be there, and if not, she should be close by. I doubt Andrew would want her to be in the fight with the wolf, considering what it can do, and while I love and respect the amazing things she is capable of, I don't think that challenging a massive sociopathic wolf is one of them."

They both laughed, while Thunderfoot released a purr like noise, Sara's fingers distracting the rabbit from its situation temporarily. They enjoyed that moment, its brevity a welcome relief from the harried flight that they knew they were about to undertake.

"If you think we can get there in ten minutes at full speed, then I guess I could probably get there in twenty while carrying this beast."

Sara concluded her statement by bouncing Thunderfoot in her arms, the rabbit enjoying the subtle game and playful comment, though being reminded of his wounds as he flailed his limbs trying to balance himself unsuccessfully.

They all turned their gaze towards the forest, the bear which Tani'm had placated just minutes before released a deep and terrified cry somewhere in the distance, the sound hanging in the air for just an instant before it was replaced by a loud and ferocious bark. After that haunting noise fell away, all was silent, and they knew what that meant; the wolf was feasting, and their moment had just arrived.

***** Preparations End *****

"Seriously Andrew, that plan is madness incarnate."

Karen's worry shone like the headlights of their S.U.V., bright and vigilante, searching for anything and everything that may do them harm.

Andrew was sitting on his knees in the back seat, the car door to his back, providing him plenty of room to work on the bench seat that sprawled out before him. He shook his head and laughed as he looked down at the crude scarecrow he had just finished. It was fashioned from a mop, and he thought it looked pretty good considering how little time he had to piece it together. He hated having to ruin one of his shirts, but without the small garment it failed to fulfill his purpose, it really took the shirt to make it appear even remotely human.

With a renewed chuckle, he tossed it over the seat back where it joined another similar simulacrum that he had created from the broom he had been working on earlier that night.

"Well, unless you have a better plan, madness it is," he stated with a smile towards Karen, who glanced at him through the rearview mirror.