Law of Evolution: The Fifth Clan

Antony

3rd day of the fifth moon. Year 879.Writing: Antony, Son of Maximilian

Not long before I finished, Maria had fallen asleep in Nick's arms. Her head resting upon his furry chest as her's rose and fall steadily in her sleep. He had his arms around her and had let his head fall upon her's, his jaw sitting on her forehead. Neither Oswald nor Tess seemed to be comfortable with the sight, to be honest neither was I. Seeing those two being so intimate, made me feel slightly sick. She was human and he was a fox. I silently prayed that it meant nothing. For both their sake. "Nick" I called lowly, knowing he had heard me. His ears perked and he opened an eye, looking at me. "We have to leave soon, immediately actually" I continued.

He nodded, tapped Maria on the head and sat her up as he got off the couch to stretch. "Are you finished?" Tess asked, standing up from the floor where she and Celestine had been sitting. "Yes, but now we have to relocate. His wounds will heal until we find another place to reside" I nodded, standing away from Peter. His fever had retreated and the frown on his face had faded away, now he was just peacefully laying on the bed. "How will we carry him, though? It will be too obvious if we are carrying an unconscious man in the middle of the city" Oswald said, casting a worried look at his friend.

"We'll need to hide somewhere close to St. Paul's cathedral, so we can be ready for the 'event' that the Kingsmen are preparing" Celestine suggested, pulling on Tess's hand to stand up. "You take him out of the back door, I'll go find a house or another inn closer to the cathedral" Nick said, picking up his jacket, cloak. "You are not leaving on your own Nick" I protested, locking the box with my herbs. "Oh but yes I am, now you better leave 'cause the soldiers won't be sitting on their asses while we talk about it" He scowled, pulling his hood over his head to hide his ears. The cloak, just like so many times before, fell upon his tail to cover it.

Tess looked at him, but said nothing, just like everyone else. Not even Maria spoke, her head tilted down as she looked at the ground with an absent look. Nick walked slowly towards the door, throwing his backpack over his shoulder as he walked out of the room without saying anything else. For what seemed like a minute we all stared at each other, sitting still. "We have to move" Tess finally said, walking close to Peter. "If we can carry him downstairs then we might be able to find a carriage or a cart of some sort to move him around" She continued, pulling him off the bed. Oswald silently followed her, holding Peter up from the other side.

I sighed and lifted up my box. My eyes met Maria's and stayed there for just a second, there was something different. I could not put my finger on it, though. "Celestine, open the door" Tess grunted as she and Oswald carried Peter towards it. She hurried to the door and opened it, making way for the injured man. Me and Maria followed from behind, keeping our distance. She did not look at me,  did not talk to me. She had been silent before, her behavior was not new, but there was something... otherworldly in her silence. "Maria, I am beginning to worry about you. Is everything alright?" I asked, slightly turning to face her. She sighed.

"Yes, everything is fine" She murmured. She was lying, of course. "I am old enough to now that you are lying and young enough to know that it has to do with Nick" I gave her a grim smile. Her breath hitched, her eyes glanced at me before she casted her look back down on the floor. I looked in front of us. Celestine and the others were now walking down the stairs with us following them. On the base of the staircase laid the aftermath of Nick's battle with the soldiers. I had not seen the battle go down, but I could hear Nick's howls. Four men laid dead on the floor, blood streaming down their necks from the arrows that had pierced them. Tables were turned and chairs shattered into splinters. The innkeeper was cowering in a corner. Now whether he was crying about his shop being destroyed or from terror, nobody knew.