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Chapter Four - Ostraciszed Orphan

"Once I got really close to the keep," Midnight boasted. We had delivered the letters that we were instructed to. Now we were heading back to the inn with the sun lighting our way. "There are a lot of guards around it. But you can see everything from the cliffs though! Even that really tall mountain on the other side of the city."

Midnight had once again started to talk about the things he's done and found to be the most exciting thing in the world to have ever happened. I listened while I walked beside him, eager to get our money back so that I could buy some adequate pants. The scraps of what remained of my old pair that I now wore did even less to protect me from the cold. I could feel the cold hovering just on the other end of my fur, waiting to bite me as it had bitten my nose every time I uncurl from sleeping.

"One of the guards once told me the mountain is called Mount Ignis," continued the black wolf. He seemed less bothered by the cold, either because he was growing his own longer coat of fur, his clothes are in better condition than my own or he was too busy talking to notice. "They say a great battle was fought on the mountain."

A few more residents now occupied the cold streets by the time we were on our way back. Midnight and I were small and usually ignored so no one bothered to try to go around us, and we had to step around them, usually into the dirty snow that had been swept to the sides of the streets and alleys. The snow soiled and soaked our hindpaws.

The wolf was still telling me about the battle that he had overheard other adults talking about when we had reached the inn again. I noticed several inconsistencies in his story but I allowed him to continue talking, because he did seem to enjoy it. Once inside, I noticed the glares from the inn owner while he watched us go through the crowded lobby and up the stairs back to the room where the other fox was at.

Entering the same room, the first thing I noticed was that there were packed bags waiting by the door. The marten and fox were standing near the embers of the fire.

"You've returned," stated the marten. He was pouring the rest of the soup he had made into some leather container usually meant for water.

"We did it," Midnight cheerfully announced, nearly jumping up and down near the table.

"Good job pups," said the fox. He grabbed the two small purses that were still on the table and gave them over to us. I opened my purse and looked wide-eyed at the few coins within. "Here's your payment. We can't stay any longer. The snows will close off the southern pass and we won't be able return home until spring if that happens. Here, I have a present for you two."

Sage, the fox, went over to one of the packed bags and started going through its contents. Waiting near the table with Midnight, I had started to wonder why the fox was being so nice to us. All the other adults have only met us with hostility, and I never imagined someone would pay me real money. Now the fox is giving us something else, for free.

Sage returned, holding two sheathed daggers in his paws. He knelt down next to us and held them out for us.

"You have to be very careful with these," he said. Before he held them out for us to take, he showed us a strange symbol on the handle of each dagger. "These are the mark of my father's work. When I come back after the snows have melted, I might have some more work for you two. I'll look for the arctic fox and black wolf who carry the daggers of my father's trade." The fox coughed into his paw and took a step back from us. "Don't lose them, trade them or let them be stolen. They're not easy to replace. And most importantly, don't ever use them unless your life is in danger."

"Yes, Mister Velox," we said. The sheathed daggers are on a belt, but I have only used small threads of rope to tie my pants up. Midnight was no exception either as we both tried to figure out how to put on the daggers.

"It might be best to wear them under your clothes so that no one will see what you have," said Sage, kneeling down to us again. While he wrapped the belt around my naked waist, he explained how the belt works so that we could put them on and take them off ourselves. The marten had packed the rest of the items and had prepared to leave. "We'll walk out with you so that the inn owner doesn't try to kick you two out."

With that, the fox and marten threw the rest of their bags over their shoulders and left the room with us in tow. We walked back down the dark stairs that I've come to hate, and out of the crowded lobby back into the biting cold.

The fox was bundled and protected from the cold more than one would think he'd need to be. He almost looked like one of the reptilians since he was covered from ears to claws, except for his tail that swung freely.

"Now Snowflake, Midnight," said the fox turning toward us once more. "Promise me that you'll only use those daggers if there truly is no other option left."

"I promise," said Midnight, but I was a little more confused by what the fox said.

"What's 'promise'?" I asked, never hearing the word used directed at me before.

"It means that you will do what I say if you promise it, no matter what," Sage told me. "So if you promise, then you'll never use the dagger unless your life depends on it."

The concept was unfamiliar with me but I nod. "I promise too then."

"Good," the fox stood up and took a few steps away from us.

"Sir?" questioned the marten catching the gaze of the fox. "The letter?"

"Oh right!" exclaimed Sage, searching through one of his pockets. From it he pulled out the letter he had promised us so that I could buy some new clothes. He passes it over to me. "Go toward the keep toward the expensive markets. Ask for Blaer's Outfitters, and if anyone gives you trouble, just show them the seal." The fox pointed with a claw at drop of wax that sealed the letter, imprinted with the same symbol that he showed us on the daggers. "Now go on. She'll have her shop open by now."

"Thank you, Mister Velox," I say, using another phrase that I'm unfamiliar with.

With that the fox and marten head toward the fortified wall while Midnight and I leave toward the keep. Our daggers and purses were somewhat concealed by our clothes, but the sheathed dagger itself was resting on our hip and easy to be seen since it was too uncomfortable wearing it under our clothes.

"I hope they do come back next spring," Midnight admitted, walking with me. He again started talking. I had already learned that Midnight loves to talk so I never did try to interrupt him.

Midnight was more familiar with the area and led me toward the market that the adult fox had mentioned. The wolf continued to talk as we neared the main market among the cleaner streets and homes. Hostile glares met us from well-dressed residents and guards; nothing I didn't expect.

"How many coins do you think new pants will be?" I asked once I found a break in Midnight's nonstop talking.

"I don't know," he admitted and took out his purse again to look at the coins. We both had looked at the coins in the purse just to ensure that they were still there, that they were real and that we were not imagining that we were ever given real money. Of course nothing changed each time we looked at the coins.

Too distracted by looking at my own coins, I unknowing walked right into a wall. I fell back on my tail with a painful thud, and had dropped my purse of coins to the frozen ground. A few of them spilled out of the bag and across the ground.

Looking up I see that I had walked into not a wall, but one of the heavily clothed reptilians.

"Watch it!" he hissed at me. I saw behind the bundles of clothes, those the slit eyes glare down at me and then at the purse that had spilled a few coins. "Where'd you steal that from?"

"We didn't steal them," Midnight growled, standing behind me. I crawled back up to my hindpaws and reached for my purse, only to have the guard snatch it from the ground before I could.

"Give that back," I demanded, glaring up at the reptilian. I had picked up the few coins that had fell out, and clenched them in my paw. "We earned it."

"Stealing is not the same as earning," gloated the reptilian but his gaze was now on the black wolf then eyed the daggers we wore. "Why would someone give you a job?" We didn't answer. The reptilian didn't seem interested in an answer anyway. "There are a few black wolves in the city. Disposing of a few would make my job easier..."

The reptilian seemed to be talking to himself now while he thought something over. We didn't know the meanings of his words but staring up at the reptilian, his intention started to sink in.

No longer concerned with reasoning with him, I grabbed onto the dark clothes that the reptilian wore and pulled on them. His hood was yanked off, exposing his scales to the freezing cold. The reptilian inhaled sharply as if he was stabbed, dropped my purse and struggled to keep in as much heat he possibly could by fussing with his hood.

While I dove for my purse of coins, I heard the reptilian hiss in pain after hearing a small thud. My paw wrapped around the purse, and once I stood back up I saw Midnight running away. I sprinted after the black tail of the wolf and away from the reptilian who was still struggling with preserving heat.

The crowds were thinned because of the cold. Although we couldn't easily hide among them, we could easily run through them. After a couple of blocks away from where we were stopped by the guard, we slowed down and took a breath in a secluded alleyway.

"Mister Velox was right," said Midnight, breathing heavily. "We have to keep our daggers hidden, and our money. Someone will try to steal them from us if we don't."

I look at the bag of coins clenched in my paw. It was true. If there was a way for me to steal some money easily, like taking it from a smaller orphan, I would. No doubt other orphans would take advantage of me, being smaller and younger than most.

With that thought, I tie the purse to my belt that I wore underneath my clothes. The bag created a lump on the scraps of my pants but it was less noticeable.

"Let's ask where Blaer's is," I suggested, finally catching my own breath.

"All right, follow me," said Midnight. The wolf peeked around the corner of the alley at all the other residents walking around before stepping out himself. I stayed close to him and followed on his tail. It didn't' take long for us to come across another guard patrolling the streets, this one being a native to the city. The wolf tugged on the cape worn by the guard, getting his attention before asking, "Where's Blaer's Outfitters?"

The lynx guard stared at the wolf for a moment then glanced at me. When I sensed that he was about to brush us off, I pulled out the letter and explained: "I have a letter for the owner."

"This way," grunted the guard unhappily. Even though the attitude from the guard was sour, I was appreciative that he was showing us where to go so that I could finally amend for the scraps that I wore. We followed the tall guard through a few streets, and I very quickly noticed that the glares directed in our direction were softened significantly.

We stopped in front of an uninteresting building. "Stay out of trouble," warned the guard before he prowled off toward a crowd in one of the squares.

Looking at the door, I again felt the uneasy feeling of entering into a building. I had learned early on that orphans were always unwelcome inside occupied buildings. With the courage of having Midnight there, and the knowledge that I knew I had permission, I followed the black wolf into the store.

Inside was warm, as expected, and filled with more clothes than I could ever hope to have access too. Many of them were all of different colors, some made from fur and leathers, others with feathers and some even with both. Attending to some of the clothes was an elderly snow hare.

"Can I help you?" she greeted with the suspicion on her voice obvious, but she asked kindly enough.

"I-uh," I hesitated, intimidated by the merchant who would have wanted to beat me if we passed each other on the streets.

"The letter," muttered Midnight. He nudged my painfully on the ribs with his elbow.

I pulled out the letter and walked over to the hare and held it out for her. She grunted with impatience and snapped the letter out of my paws. Once she saw the seal though her expression quickly changed to one of more patience. She opened it and read the letter while Midnight and I stood rigidly in the warm store.

The hare folds the letter up again and eyes us, specifically Midnight before she mutters under her breath, "There are a lot of black wolves."

"I might have a few things that I have been saving for scraps," said the hare to us this time. "Wait here." She turned and disappeared behind one of the doors opposite of the entrance. We stood there glancing around the store before she returned with an armful of clothes that looked less impressive than the rest displayed. "Look through these. I was going to tear them up so that I had extra patches but you can look through them first."

She sets the armful of clothes down on the floor in front of us. Even if they weren't as impressive, the thought that I could take these had me wide-eyed while I dug through them. Most of them were pants, some worn and torn already but others looked almost new. When it was obvious that I was having trouble making a quick decision, the hare picked up the clothes unexpectedly.

"Come over here out of the doorway," she instructed. Even though there were no other guests, it was clear the hare didn't want us to be seen in her shop. Despite her attitude toward us, she started to help me sort through the clothes. Midnight even started looking himself being interested in all the things we could now buy. "These are too small. These are in worse condition than yours. These are too big. You'd never grow into these." Quickly the pile started to shrink but what remained was optimal for me to use.

"Try to find a pair you like," instructed the hare. "It'll be five coppers. Please do hurry along."

Sorting through the remainder of the pile, I chose several pair of pants based on if they looked like they'd keep me warm or not. Some were chosen because they had pockets, or were a little loose so that I could easily hide my dagger and coin purse. Choosing one pair seemed to be a tremendous task though because as I eyed each one, I didn't know if it was something of good quality or something that I shouldn't buy.

"Just try on a few pairs," urged the impatient storeowner.

A little uncertain, I obeyed regardless and carefully took off the rags I wore and pulled on some other pairs. I hated the feeling of pulling on pants because it went against my fur. With the new pair of pants on, I felt my fur didn't easily fall back into position and instead stood out in an uncomfortable manner. I quickly took off that pair of wooly fabric and tossed it aside.

I tried another pair, this one seem to made of the rough hides from livestock. The pair was slightly larger, allowing more the fur to rest more comfortably. Given the last pair made my fur stand on end, I was satisfied with the pair made from hide.

"I want these," I said, no longer interested in the other pairs of pants in the pile.

"Five coppers," repeated the hare without even glancing at us while she sorted through the other clothes.

I pulled out my coin purse and opened it and started to pull out a few coins. With a bit of embarrassment, I hesitated and stared at the coins. How many make up five?

Midnight was still looking at the pants in the pile, seeming to be shopping for himself, when I was about to ask him if he knew how many five was. The merchant had grown impatient though and wandered over to me.

"Five coppers," she said again, looking down at me. It took her a moment to realize my problem. With an impatient scoff, she knelt down to my height and took one coin from my pawn. "One--" Then another, and another. "Two, three, four and... five. Thank you for your business." She stared at me for a moment as if expecting something. "Say 'thank you' back."

"Thank you," I repeated hoarsely. Even with the hare rolling her eyes and walking off, I knew she was being nice to me but I still felt my neck and ears burn in shame. I knew so little about how to do anything. I didn't belong in stores, and I certainly didn't know how to handle money. I didn't belong here.

The thoughts brought tears to my eyes, and I felt suffocated suddenly in the store. I walked toward the entrance, swung the heavy door open with some difficulty and rushed out into the cold.

That feeling of shame didn't subside, even with the cold air pressing against me. It took nearly a minute for the burn to cool and fade. By that time, Midnight emerged from the store as well.

"Snowy," he said, holding a pair of pants that he had bought for himself in his arms. "Why did you run out?"

"It's nothing," I lied. "Let's go back. I'm hungry."

We both knew that even though we ate well this morning, we now had to find food on our own again. With the money we have, we could buy food but I didn't want to spend the money we had earned, especially if it meant that embarrassment, that I don't belong anywhere but the streets, returning.

Each glare of the merchants or wealthy residents reinforced those thoughts. I tried to not let it bother me but each glare felt like it was burrowing in the back of my skull. Thankfully we were back in the familiar part of the city where we slept. Well, not so familiar to me because I've only been here for a few days but Midnight grew up in this part of the city. Still, after the shop and glares, it was a welcome relief.

For the rest of the day we had ate scraps we found discarded. It didn't take me long to notice the difference between the scraps that I used to wear and the hide pants that I wore now. They were much more efficient at keeping the cold out and acted almost as a third layer of fur to keep my body warmth in.

After the snowstorm, the temperature had plummeted even further to levels that froze thin layers of liquid in a few minutes. But with the hide on my legs acting as another layer of my own fur, I started to feel too warm.

Not another coin was spent that day. By the time we had returned to the collapsed gazebo on the ruined rooftop, I was exhausted from the day. The sun was already starting to set in the shorter days of winter coming, and Midnight and I operated mostly from the middle of the night to the afternoon. It was time to rest.

We took off our belts, daggers and purses, and set them nearby in the gazebo so that they'd be in reach. Lying down next to Midnight in the gazebo, I was too hot so I took off my clothes, and used them to cover half my body shield me from the cold. The other half of my body was shielded by the warmth of Midnight nearby.

Before we had really settled in, I felt the building shake that caused our hearts to race. It felt similar to the first time I felt the unnatural and very unsettling feeling a few days ago but this time it lasted only a few seconds.

"What is that?" I asked, sitting up and staring over the city rooftops. "It happened again."

"I don't know," answered Midnight. He figured that there was nothing we could do to learn more about it now that it was gone so he quickly lied back down.

I followed his example and lied down next to him again, this time my back to him while I stared out of the city and at the distant mountain. The top of the mountain looked like it moved briefly before I saw small black clouds rise from the crest of it. I never saw black clouds like that, not even during the worst lightning storms.

I stared at the clouds, pondering over all the things I didn't know. I don't know how to count, don't know how to shop, and don't know how to live a normal life. Plagued by thoughts as dark as the clouds, I slowly drifted off to a restless sleep.