Fan Fiction ❯ The Climatic First Encounter ❯ While the Cat Is Away the Mouse Will Play ( Chapter 4 )

While the Cat Is Away the Mouse Will Play

 

It only took Shade minutes before he was bored. Wriggling his shoulders slightly and pulling at his arms, the elf tests his bindings. Somehow he wasn't really surprised when he found them to be quite secure. However, they were not secure enough. Slowly he began to work at setting himself free and by the time the bounty hunter was not even gone a half an hour, the elf was loose.

 

Looking back at the bindings, Shade chuckles and debates over tying something up in his place to leave for the human to find but decides against it. Instead the elf looks up into the starry sky and with silent footsteps walks away from the tree. He made no attempt to cover his tracks and took his own sweet time. His hands would drift out every now and then to almost caress the leaves of a giant oak and stroke the needles of a fir tree. Once he was far enough in the opposite direction that the bounty hunter had headed, Shade palms the small dagger he kept hidden and begins to stalk down the path. The hot-headed human could starve tonight but he most certainly wasn't going to.

 

It took the elf only a few more minutes to find the perfect spot to sit and wait. It was a large tree, its roots close to the surface, creating a small little place for him to settle down and wait. The sounds of the forest moved around him as if he was part of the tree. An owl's wings beat against the sky off in the distance and the sounds of deer moving against the low brush as they searched for tender shoots of grass to munch. The tip of Shade's ear twitches ever so slightly. Venison would make a fine meal but was way too much for just himself, he needed to find something a bit more manageable.

 

Waiting for the herd of deer to move on, Shade abandons his vantage point and continues on back towards the camp. As best as he could figure, it had been a little over an hour since the bounty hunter had left him tied to the tree. He almost wished he was there hiding so he could see the look on that jerk's face when he came back to the tree and found Shade missing. Smirking and feeling quite proud, the elf practically skips to the small meadow where the caravan had set up for the night.

 

No one was really paying much attention and so his arrival went unnoticed. Slipping over to the horses, the elf begins to rifle through the bags, attempting to find the key to the manacles. A bit disgusted that the human wasn't as dumb as most of the others of his race, Shade sits down and sighs. It wouldn't be easy to pick the lock without his tools, which had not been with the rest of his possessions. Obviously this guy wasn't your average dummy and that frustrated the hell out of Shade.

 

From a bit away, Shade hears the tell-tale tinkling laughter of a group of females and his ears once again perk slightly. Now he knew how he could get the manacles off. Leaping to his feet, he does his best to brush the dirt off of his clothing before raising his wrists up to finger-comb the fire red shoulder length locks of hair. Fixing a smoldering smile on his lips, the elf makes his way towards the giggling.

 

The source of the giggling was less than 20 yards away and Shade couldn't believe his luck. Sitting around a very poorly built campfire were two human girls, varying between fifteen and eighteen summers, watching what was probably their mother attempting to cook something in a heavy iron pot. The girls were fairly plain and their mother clearly had worked hard every day of her life for she could almost pass as their grandmother. Clearing his throat softly to gather their attention upon him, Shade waits casually just inside the soft glow from the fire. The girls gasp softly and lean in to each other while their mother looks up at the new arrival. Instantly Shade knew he needed to appeal to the older female first.

 

“Good eve madam, I did not mean to startle your family.” The elf bows at the waist, keeping an easy smile on his face. “I came to see if I could perhaps offer some assistance. As you can see I am alone and I do not mean you any harm.” The girls whisper again at his words and the elf can clearly make out their words with his keen hearing. So far everything was going as planned. Glancing over to the mother again, he notes that she appears to be studying him, looking for something. Twice she opens her mouth as if she was going to say something but then just closes it. Finally she breaks the silence, “Well if y'think those scrawny arm of yers can carry some wood, we could the help.” Clucking softly, the old woman practically dares him to refuse. But the elf knew he needed to win her trust and so with another bow and a nod to the girls, he jogs back towards the wood line. There was plenty of dry wood and he was pleased that she had given him such a simple task.

 

Three armfuls later, Shade has more than enough wood to last the ladies through the night and is confident that the old bird has fallen for his charming smile too. Whatever she was making in the pot didn't smell too horrible and pretty much anything was better than rations. Standing just off the fire's edge, he waits patiently while the girls giggle and continue to whisper about him. Hearing one particular comment, Shade cannot help but add fuel to their imaginations. Turning slightly so that his backside was in clear view, Shade looks over his shoulder and tucks his hair behind his ear before winking boldly at both girls. Their mother looks at her daughters disapprovingly but says nothing to them about their encouraging behavior. Taking a stack of wooden bowls from a crate in their wagon, she begins to ladle a heavy stew into the bowl. Handing one to each of the girls, she pours one and holds it up to the elf. “It's not much but it don't taste bad and it will fill yer gut and you look like ya mighta missed a couple o'meals.”

 

Shade crosses over and takes a seat between the girls and their mother, accepting the bowl of food graciously. The four of them sit in silence before the younger sister leans forward and looks at Shade. “Do you have a girlfriend?”

 

[Author's Note - This is what we have so far. This story is a huge work in progress and after the first couple of chapters, my coauthor and I changed the way we wrote it. Each chapter will be a different view and will hopefully update sooner but only be around 1500 words instead of close to 3000 like the first two. Please feel free to leave reviews but if you don't like it then leave a constructive one and not just nasty words. Those don't benefit anyone. Thanks! Check out our Yahoo! Group where our fic gets updated first. Join there and you can get immediate updates emailed to you. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/newmoonfantasy/ **RogueKittiekat**]