Chapter 6: The Caught.
It had been 1 month and 3 days since Celestyn and Alistar had taken up camp just outside the borders of the town, 'Stickington', A town consisting primarily of Canikin derived of the clan 'Stock', a large muscular group, lacking in intelligence, making up for it with brawn, but still retaining the friendliness most Canikin are known for.
Celestyn awoke, slowly opening his eyes to stare at at the openings in the stick ceiling above. The shelter he and Alistar had put together was substantially more well-built than any of the ones he had stayed in prior, actually featuring walls and a ceiling that were seperated this time. Celestyn sat up, and yawned, then looked to his side, to find his new travel partner, Alistar, slumbering peacefully next to him. He was curled up, facing away from him, neither of them having a blanket to warm them during the cold nights. He got up, intentionally avoiding rousing his new travel partner from his peaceful rest.
Celestyn slowly walked out of the shelter, stretching, taking in the gentle brisk breeze of the late fall, the nice smell of the gentle forest behind their shelter wafting gently by, green leaves running along the ground. He yawned slowly, still waking up. After he woke himself up, he grabbed his sword, and went out into the forest, and began training his slashes on some trees, awaiting his travel partner's awakening.
Hours later, Alistar woke up, slowly sitting upright, yawning. As his yawn subsided, he stared up for a moment, through the small holes in the stick-made ceiling above him, at the sky. The gentle swirl of clouds, the brisk breeze wafting in the scents of the forest, the beams of light spreading out across his face, warming his fur. He took a moment to sit here, then stood and walked out of the shelter. He stretched his arms, before looking around, at the gentle sway of the grass, at the leaves tumbling and rolling in the gentle late-autumn breeze.
Alistar turned and walked into the woods, following the path of cut branches and vines and plant-stalks carved by Celestyn practicing with his sword. He found him, sweaty and panting, slicing at a tree. "H-..hey there." Celestyn was frightened by the sudden appearance of his friend, Alistair continued, "Preparing for a fight, are you?", ".. Can never be too prepared." replied Celestyn. "I dont reckon we'll be meeting much of a fight, so long as you keep your hood on." Alistar replied, to which Celestyn shrugged him off, continuing to swing at a tree. "Well, when you're done, come get me, and we can be on our way to the town.", then he turned, walked back to the shelter, and sat on the bed, sharpening his dagger.
Celestyn was sitting, taking a short break from his sword practice, when he heard a distant scream, which he recognized as Alistar's. He rushed back to the shelter, skidding to a stop outside the brush-covered doorway, and raised his sword, before slowly pushing in. Inside, he found Alistar, on the ground, a large Canikin with short golden fur and a long snout, wearing plate breast armor pinning him down, another standing over him, sword in hand, the blade touching the dirt floor. The standing Canikin turned to look at Celestyn, and after only a moment, he dashed forward and slashed his sword. Celestyn crouched, but he felt the sword crash against his antlers, a crack resounding through his skull. He felt stunned, but the adrenaline surging kept him moving. He quickly slung his sword upward, not wanting to hurt the man fatally just yet, and slammed the edge of it into the Canikin's hand, sending the man's blade flying across the room and clattering onto the ground. Celestyn quickly slammed his forearm into the man's throat, the Canikin staggering backward, stunned/ "Who are you!? wh-.. why are you in our shelter!?", he asked shakily, the Canikin guard coughed and sputtered, holding his neck, before responding "Firstly, it's illegal to make a home outside a city without owning that plot of land, Secondly, you are here illegally. Vistakin are outlawed.", Celestyn paused for a moment, thinking. If he kills this man, would he forgive himself? the blood of another on his hands... He couldnt do it. Instead, he slams the butt of his sword into the Canikin's head, knocking him onto the floor unconscious, then quickly did the same to the one pinning down Alistar. Alistar quickly rose to his feet as the larger man fell off of him, panting slightly from the struggle he must have had before Celestyn arrived. Celestyn turned to him, staring silently, and Alistar returned his gaze, the same thought in both of their minds. They're not safe here. And if they're not safe here, where do they go..?
The sawing vibrated through his skull, the sound resonating in his eardrums, the pain surging through with every passing second, pulsating, cold, searing pain. Celestyn looked up, at Alistar holding his sword, slowly sawing through his Pedicle, ensuring his antlers would never grow back, and there would be no evidence that they were ever there. Celestyn whimpered slightly, thinking mostly about how he would never have antlers again. The biggest shame a Vistakin male could suffer. If he ever fathered children, they'd be antler-less too. He's roused from his thoughts by a gentle dabbing of a cloth, stinging the open wounds that stand where his antlers once were. He winced at the feeling of the alcohol stinging and cleaning the wound. Alistar spoke "Th-there we go.. almost done.. it's almost over, C-Celestyn..." as he slowly wrapped his head with makeshift bandages they had made, Celestyn stared up at him, thankful for his friend being here, he probably wouldnt have been able to do that himself.
Celestyn sighed, pulled a hood over his bandaged head, walked out of the shelter with Alistar at his side, and walked to the town. As he approached the town, he came to a sign, which said 'Welcome to Stickington!'. He took a few moments to observe the sign, it was wooden, about 6 feet tall, and 8 feet wide, the sign’s text was hand-painted, and not particularily well—the stock definitely werent well-known for their handwriting, nor their art. He walked past the sign, about 16 or so feet later coming to a 14-foot-tall wood fence and gate, a sign on the gate said, ‘Please, yell for Gary if you want to let you in - Reginald’, in the same handwriting as the sign a few feet away. Past the fence and gate, he saw a small wooden hut, with no windows and a large heavy-looking door, made of large darkened wooden boards held together by rusted metal bars, the name “Gary” was engraved on the door. He turned to his travel-partner, and he looked back. Alistar turned back to the sign and began, “g... gar-GARYY..?? WE.. ne-NEED ENTRY...?”, and they heard somebody from inside the hut yell with sudden startle, and a few moments later, out came an old and stout - but still muscular - Canikin, with shimmering golden fur, limping due to an apparent leg-injury. “Howdie,” he began as he made it to the gate, placing his hands on the fencepost, “what brings y’all ‘round these parts?”, Celestyn replied, “oh, uh.. nothing much, we’re just here passing through, that’s all.”, “.. hm... You ain’t under no mind-alt’ring substances, are you? we get them folk ‘round here alot”, asked this Gary, “Huh? uh... No, no we aren’t doing any substances.. Never have, never will.”, Gary nodded slightly, then turned to Alistar, expectantly. Alistar stared back blankly for a moment, until Celestyn nudged him in the ribs with his elbow. Alistar jumped with a startle, then looked up at Celestyn, then back to Gary, and nervously responded, “uh-- oh.. you wanted me to respond too..? uh... nno, i’ve never done any substances, i- i’d be too afraid anyways,”, Alistar let out a small, nervous chuckle. Gary nodded slightly again, then seemed to think for a moment, before a small surprise crossed his face, “Oh, I forgot to ask.. Names? Given name and Surname, please.”, Alistar spoke first "al- Alistar. Alistar Everwyn.”, “Celestyn, Celestyn... uh- L.. Linwood. Celestyn Linwood is my name.”, Gary thought a moment, then nodded slightly let again, then responded, “Alrighty, Celestyn Linwood and Alistar Everwyn, i’ll let you in. Don’t go causin’ no trouble now.”, then he opened the gate, and walked back off to his small little hut.