Chapter 11: Chapter 11: Poached!

The poacher is an NPC. Not that this knowledge helps me now, dangling in a net, a flopping fish caught by my own stupidity. I feel like a fish. My claws are as useless as fins right now.

I hear the poacher’s loud breathing and get a whiff of perfume. Expensive. I see a green shirt rippling in front of me. This poacher brought her A-Game. Her. I didn’t know women could be poachers. I always think of poachers as big burly cigar-smoking men with mustaches who drive jeeps and need baths. Why? Blame all the cartoons I watched as a kid.

[How do we get out of this?] I ask Demos.

[I don’t know! I’ve never been caught by a poacher before. Is there more than one?]

I growl, sawing at the infernal net with my claws. [How do I know? All I see is a green shirt.]

[Helpful.]

His attitude annoys me. [Hey! Sulking much?]

[Yes! Does this poacher know who we are? Who our Mistresses ate?]

I sigh. [She probably didn’t see them through those trees. So no, she doesn’t know. But you have Telepathy, don’t you?]

Demos bumps me with his nose. [Yes! How did I forget that?]

I feel sorry for him. After all, I thought Kaline had captured me until she won my trust. [This is a scary situation. Come on, tell Mistress Vedette where you are and what’s happened.]

Demos concentrates. I know because he stays still and quiet. As for me, I send an SOS to Kaline. A wave of panic. She can guess my thoughts at times. God, please let her pick up on my horror and outrage. Poached like just some Feral Beast.

[Name: Queenie (NPC)

[Class: Expert

[Species: Wood Elf

[Skills: Beast Hunting]

We’re moving swiftly, the net swinging back and forth. Then it snags. It snags on a branch, and our poacher complains in a deep voice like a smoker’s voice. “I haven’t got all day. Fear not, my lovelies. I’ll soon free you.”

Liar.

I inspect the sharp, rough, thorny black branch that has caught our net in which we are caught. And I see a ray of hope! I see our ticket to freedom.

With ruthless efficiency, I work the thorny branch. The net frays, then breaks apart. A small hole at first. A promising start. I slash at the hole, widening it.

[Keep still! What are you doing?]

Demos’ ingratitude doesn’t even register. [Come on, help me! I’m going to get us free!]

With an eager yelp, Demos lends me a hand, scratching and clawing and tearing. His claws start to glow violet, and so do mine. I don’t know what that is, but I hope it’s one of my hidden powers in the game. A nice bonus as a reward for cooperating with Demos.

“HO! What mischief is this?”

Queenie’s outraged cry is music to my ears, as is the loud tearing of the net. There’s not much of a net left, truthfully.

Leaping down together. Demos and I land in a tangle of furry limbs, and my tail gets squashed, but at least I’m free. We’re free.

[CONGRATULATIONS! Blaze cooperated with Demos to escape the poacher’s trap! No damage to either beast. Escape Power Unlocked.]

Well, that was worth getting captured for.

The poacher says in her silky voice, “Well, no matter I can always get another net. And who needs a net when I have food?”

The wonderful aromas of meat and fish and some kind of poultry make me sick. Sick because I’m tempted to investigate them.

[She can’t bribe us!]

Demos sounds indignant, standing upright and fluffing his fur out, twitching his ears. He bares his teeth and growls. I copy his stance, facing Queenie, staring up at her.

I notice elegant pointed ears and a very gloomy Goth appearance. Dark clothing, dark eyes, pale skin, dark hair. She’s an unusual elf to be sure.

Queenie smiles. “How cute. You both think you’re a match for me.”

Vedette’s furious voice rings out in the jungle and wipes the smirk off Queenie’s face. “Yes, they are. In fact, they’re overmatched with you.”

Kaline adds, “How dare you poach our beasts!”

Tomas glares at Queenie. “You are in trouble.”

Ser Maartenwitz looks at her the way he might look at a stain on the carpet in the villa. “These beasts are members of the House of Riddlehoeven. See their emblems?”

Oh. Right. Emblems. I glance down at the ruff of fur on my chest and see the pendant that Kaline put on me before we went out hunting. Demos wears a similar one. They have the crest of the House of Riddlehoeven on them.

Kaline runs up and picks me up in her arms, while Vedette hoists Demos into her own embrace, hugging her cub. “They’re family! And we bonded with them. We were out hunting when they stumbled into your trap with the pheasant. You ruined their hunting. But I guess they got the better of you. Serves you right.”

Paling even further, Queenie steps back from us. “I beg your indulgence, Mistresses. I did not know that these beasts belonged to you.”

Vedette sniffs. “We’ll just see what our parents have to say about that.”

“No, no, no.” Queenie darts away, as swift as a wood elf should be. “Let’s just forget this entire incident. I’m an honest hunter who deserves mercy. I did not know.”

I growl and lunge for her, but Kaline squeezes me tightly. “No, Blaze. Let our guards catch her.”

“Let her go. She’s not important. You two have a hunt to finish,” Vedette agrees, and she and Kaline exchange a big smile.

Well, when you put it that way…the hunt awaits!

Squirming and trying to break free, we lick Kaline’s and Vedette’s faces until they set us down. Growling, feeling free, scampering through the woods, we don’t even fear Carnivorous Plants or Feral Beasts. We just beat a poacher, and we’re sure to find another partridge!

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