Late spring.
Miera has been out of the valley and across the mountains to visit someone, and has just gotten back through the gates.
"Hello, Marnik," she states, nodding to the fox standing guard, "a nice day, isn't it?"
"A very nice day," he responds, grinning widely, "the sun is shining, the air is warm and I get to do nothing but stand here and enjoy the sunshine. Have you been out looking for old stuff again?"
"No, just visiting and hunting," she replies. "Everything quiet here in the valley?"
"Mostly, but there are a few unknown wolves hanging about. I'll feel much better when they move on."
"They'll probably leave as soon as they've drunk all the beer at the Inn," she comments, grinning. "Seen my rabbit lately?"
"Saw him this morning, not long after sun-up, digging in the garden. I wish my son was half as obedient and respectful."
"Try whipping him," Miera grins, "it can sometimes work wonders."
"I'm tempted," the fox responds, grinning wryly.
Walking off, Miera picks the westernmost road through the valley, knowing that it is less likely that Kerr will notice her approach, and because it's bathed in warm sunshine.
Passing Shella's house she nods at the wolf female, sitting in the sun with her child on her lap, but doesn't stop to talk as she feels the need to surprise a certain rabbit.
As she rounds the last bend in the road, she unlimbers her heavy pack and drops it beside the fence circling her house. Then she climbs the fence and hides behind a bush while scanning for Kerr. Puzzled at not hearing any sounds of work, the weather is too good for him to be inside, she slowly creeps from bush to bush while spying for him. Soon she reach the corner of the house and peeks around to the back garden and the kitchen entrance. He must be inside, getting a drink or something, she thinks, noticing a shovel left lying in freshly turned soil and the kitchen door standing ajar.
Five minutes later, when she still hasn't seen or heard him she creeps silently towards the open door. He actually enjoys working out here when the weather is good, so where is he? Maybe I should 'punish' him for slacking off? Grinning at the thought of all the fun games she can play with him with that pretext, she slowly eases the door fully open and pads silently inside.
At first she doesn't see anything amiss, then she notices that the table is askew and a cup is lying on the floor. Next she notices a bootprint next to the door. Strange, Kerr knows that he's not supposed to use boots unless it's raining or very cold. "Kerr!" she calls anxiously, "your mistress demands your attention!"
No rabbit appears, no sound of him running to reach her, nothing.
Thinking he might be asleep or something, she takes a quick peek into the other rooms, but still can't find any trace of him. Then she spots another bootprint in the hallway. Kerr doesn't have that big feet, does he? It almost looks like it would fit a... "No!"
Running back to the kitchen, the signs of a short fight are evident everywhere; furniture that has moved slightly, scuffmarks, and even a small tuft of white fur in one corner, but luckily, no blood. Outside she soon spots two parallell set of bootprints, going from the kitchen door, around a corner and towards the road where it disappears.
I came on the western road, she thinks, heading eastwards, but I didn't meet anyone, so they must have taken the other road back to the gates.
A five minute desperate sprint brings her back to the gates and in sight of the fox guarding it. "What's the hurry?" he asks, "I figured you'd be busy with that rabbit of yours..."
"He's gone!" she pants, "disappeared!"
"Well, he can't have gone far," the fox comments, "this is the only exit, after all."
"You don't understan!" she yells, "he didn't run away, those wolves must have taken him!"
"Those dirty..." the fox states, spitting in disgust. "They just left, carrying a large bundle. You wait here while I go drum up a few others to chase those rotted thieves down." Then he sets off towards the inn.
"No time!" Miera shouts, then runs the other way, through the open gates and the narrow passage beyond.
"Where can they be?!" the panther gasps, stopping for a moment to catch her breath in the narrow pass. "There's nowhere to hide here?" Running along the rocky outcrop that works as a road, she almost misses the scuffmarks leading towards a rocky ravine.
"Heeeelmmphh!!"
That's Kerr! Spurred by the desperation in his voice she quickly climbs the rocks, slips between two large rocks and enters a small side-valley she never before knew existed to be met by a horrendous sight: a large, just lit bonfire, a dazed Kerr held by a large, brutish wolf and a second wolf sharpening a spear with an axe. "Stop!" she screams, "he's mine!"
"Look!" the wolf holding the spear exclaims gleefully, "we've got a dinner guest!" Tossing the spear aside he approces the panther. "What say we have some fun first?"
"Don't break her," the wolf holding Kerr shouts, "you can have her cunt and muzzle, but I want her ass!"
"Mmhp!" Kerr screams into the large paw wrapped securely around his muzzle.
"Dinner wants to play, too!" the male holding him jeers.
"Let Kerr go!" Miera shouts, "or you'll regret it!"
"And what are you going to do?" the wolf approaching her asks, "shed all over me?"
"I'll rip you to shreds!" the panther screams, slashing at the wolf with the claws on her right paw fully extended.
Jumping backwards, the wolf exclaims, "Missed!" Then beckoning with his paws he asks, "Want to try again?"
Struggling fiercely, Kerr manages to free his muzzle for a moment. "Run!" he screams, "save yourself!" Then the wolf clasps his muzzle shut again.
"Noooo!" Miera screams, lashing out at her opponent again, only to have her arm caught in his right paw as he backsteps and blocks quicker than should be possible for one so large.
"Got you!" he grins, then twist her around and grabs her other arm in his other paw. "We could have done this the nice way," he growls, "but now..."
Crack!
The pain when both her arms breaks is so strong that she can't even scream, only sag slowly to the ground. Dimly she hears Kerr hiss and scream, then a yelp as he manages to bite into the paw clamping onto his muzzle.
Then, darkness...
Groan...
"I think she's coming around now."
Groaning again, Miera slowly opens her eyes to stare into a gray-and-black fuzz. Then her eyes clears and it resolves into Shella's familiar face.
"How do you feel?" the wolf asks, anxiously.
"Feel?" Miera mumbles, confused.
"Don't worry her," a male in the background rumbles, "she's still confused by the drugs."
Drugs? Where am I. What happened? Then as the memories starts to float back through the fog of the drugs. The wolves? Kerr? Kerr! "Kerr?!" What is meant to be a call ends up as no more than a whisper as she can't find the strenght to fill her lungs completely first.
"Right here," the male responds, the doctor she realises, then pushes a white-and-brown rabbit forward.
Brown? she thinks, confused, no, not brown; rust-red as in dried blood. Blood? "Kerr," she whispers, "what have they done to you?"
"He's all right," the doctor states, "it's not his blood he's covered in." Then, nodding to someone standing behind the rabbit, he adds, "We had to restrain him to tend to you, though, but as he's calmed down a bit we can release him."
Unseen paws lets go of the rabbit who immediately drops down to hug her tightly. Miera tries to lift her arms to reciprocate, only to find that she can't move them.
"Don't try to move your arms," the doctor states quietly, "it was relatively clean breaks, but any attempt to move them could be disastrous." Then he lifts a small bowl up to her muzzle so that she can't help but inhale the steam. "Sleep and rest," he whispers.
Waking again, Miera is disappointed by not feeling the reassuring presence of Kerr next to her. "Kerr?" she whispers.
"He's out, running an errand," a female sitting next to the bed states quietly.
"Shella?" the panther whispers.
"Got it in one," the wolfess grins. There's a rustle of cloth, then she leans over the bed to look the panther in the eyes. "You were a bit confused the last few times you woke up." Then, looking concerned at her she asks, "Do you remember what happened?"
Thinking for a moment, Miera responds, "I remember running after the wolves, then finding them as they were about to kill Kerr. I think I tried to fight one of the wolves, but he..."
"Broke your arms like twigs," Shella finishes for her.
"Yes. Then I think I must have fainted or something, because I can't remember anything before waking up here."
"You missed the best part, then," the wolf states. "I don't think anyone knows the entire story, except Kerr maybe, but he won't speak about it." Sighing she sits back, then begins, "Marnik found a couple of males at the inn to follow you, but before they even got past the gates they met Kerr, carrying you."
"But..." Miera mumbles, "he isn't strong enough to carry me!"
"I know, dear," Shella states, "but he was covered in blood, carrying you and, according to Marnik, growling, so I guess no one wanted to tell him that he couldn't. One of them ran off to fetch the doctor and the rest went to look for the wolves."
"And?" Miera asks.
"Both were dead," the wolfess replies, "very dead. I didn't see them, but they say it was as if someone had cut away their throats, not ripped them out or cut away with a knife, but as if a big piece was chiseled out. There was blood everywhere!"
"The blood on Kerr?"
"Must have come from the wolves," Shella responds. "When the doctor got here we had to wait until we could find a couple of bears to restrain him so he could look at your injuries. Since then we haven't been able to get him away from you for more than a few minutes. I don't even think he's gotten any sleep these last two days."
Two days? No sleep? Before she can say anything a door opens and Kerr walks in. Thinking for a moment, she whispers, "Shella, can you do me a big favour?"
"Of course," the wolf responds, patting her on the shoulder, "what is it?"
"Lift the commode," Miera begins, "there's a small key hidden under it. It unlocks Kerr's collar."
Nodding, Shella gets up from the chair and pads over to the commode, lifts it and retrieves the key. Then she turns to the rabbit who just stands there, staring at the panther and, grabbing hold of his collar with her left paw, inserts the key in the lock with her right and gives it a twist. There's a quiet click and the collar opens to hang limply in her paw. "You're free," she states.
"Free?" Kerr mumbles slowly, "free?" At first he just stands there, staring blindly into the air, then it's almost as if he suddenly wakes from a dream. "No!" Yanking the collar from the wolf's paw, he quickly puts it back on, then rushes forward, drops down beside Miera and grasps her, crying, "No! Don't send me away! I love you! I need you! Please!"