Chapter CCLX: Abode ~Rynn

With a groan, Rynn slowly opened her eyes to see that she was in a house of some sort, covered in a multicoloured blanket. She immediately checked for Kai, and found him beside her, asleep, a waterskin to his lips. She smiled, caressing his cheek. At least Kai was still with her. But where were they?

She could tell they weren't on the train; that much was certain. As Rynn looked around the room, her eyes fell upon a small bookcase, filled with books. Squinting, her eyes could see the titles, but couldn't read any of them. They weren't in Drakoni nor were they written in Karmali. So where was she?

Moving as gently as she could, Rynn got out of the bed, padding to the door, which was closed. She didn't want to alert whoever was housing her and Kai. She listened closely, pressing her head up against the wooden door, but there was no noise from the other side. Turning back to go back to the bed, she caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror that hung over a crude carved dresser. Her dress was grass stained, and her hair looked knotted. There was a brush on the dresser, and Rynn went over to it. Picking it up, she noticed that the few stray hairs caught in the bristles were a silvery color. Shrugging, she pulled it through her hair, thinking that some old lady might have found them.

Lying it down, the Drakoni went back to bed, climbing in gently, trying not to wake her son. But the boy woke anyway. He smiled.

"You wake mamy?"

Rynn nodded. "I'm awake. I wonder where we are...who brought us here....and where's your father?"

"Dady no here. Woofman bing us."

“Wolfman brought us here?" Rynn was stunned. A wolfman? Where were they? Her head spun. "Did you see the wolfman?"

"Yaya, Kai see woofman. He right dere!"

Rynn had not heard the door open behind her as she sat on the bed talking to Kai. She turned, seeing the wolfman standing there. He was wearing no shirt, but had on some brown cloth pants. His tail swung back and forth, and he scratched at his chest with a silver colored paw. The rest of his fur was darker, and his eyes were a glittering sky blue.

He smiled. "I see you have awoken. Are you hungry?” he asked, his voice low and gravelly. “I have breakfast cooking."

Rynn stared at him. "Who are you?"

The wolf smiled and bowed. "I am Romyr Silverpaw, and you are?"

The bow caused the Drakoni to smile. "I am Rynn Karukylis, and this is my son, Kai."

Kai waved, turning up the waterskin. Whatever was in it caused him to topple backwards, his little feet in the air.

They both laughed, and Rynn helped him back up. Then she turned back to Romyr.

"So where are we? What planet? The last I seem to remember is a train....something about an explosion..." she said, trailing off.

Romyr frowned. Perhaps the strange one had hit her head. And if the boy was her son, where was his wings? And why were they colored like that? It was a good thing he'd found them first, otherwise the Hakatalsh would have more than likely have killed them.

He was jerked back to reality by her asking once again. "Where are we?"

"You're on Abode. Now are you hungry?"

Rynn thought a moment before answering. Abode? She'd never heard of it. Maybe Naaro had, but how would he be able to find her? But she didn't have long to think as her stomach answered for her.

Romyr smiled. "Guess that's settled."

Offering her a paw, he helped Rynn off the bed. She turned and got Kai, following him into the next room, which was a living room slash kitchen. There was a small table off in the corner, and a small wood stove near that. A pan was set on it, and the smell of eggs frying filled the air. Romyr hurried over to flip the eggs.

Rynn took a seat at the table, looking around. There was a small couch near the large picture window, a blanket tossed over it. Had he slept there while they took his bed? Another chair was nearby and a small table. On the table was a book, opened, but lying face down. It was quite homely.

She turned when she heard Kai making hard sucking noises on the waterskin. "Is that good, KaiKai?" she asked.

Kai nodded, his little belly rounding out, and still he showed no signs of stopping.

Rynn looked to Romyr, who was dishing out the eggs onto a plate. "What's in his waterskin?"

The silver wolf turned, baring two plates and sat them down, one in front of Rynn, one at his spot. He smirked. “Wolf milk. My sister just had a litter, two nieces and two nephews. I told her I'd found an infant and if she'd be willing to spare some milk. So that's what he's drinking."

Rynn smiled. "Thank you."

She picked up a bit of the egg with her fingers, blew on it and popped it into her mouth. It was delicious. She offered Kai a bit, but he shook his head, content with the skin.

"So tell me more about you and this place."

Romyr nodded, eating his own breakfast. "Well," he said when he swallowed, "my people are called the Chelgar, and we're at war with the lizard people, the Hakatalsh. They raid our temples, steal our offerings to the gods. And we fight back." He took a bite of egg and looked her over. "What about you? What race are you?"

Rynn glanced down at Kai, who was settling down in her arms, removing his skin and capping it. "We're Yoshies; rather, I am Drakoni. Kai here is a mix of Karmali and Drakoni. We're from Yoshin."

Romyr nodded. As he opened his mouth to speak, another of his race rushed in. This new wolf was almost black in color.

"Romyr, we're under attack!"