Side-Write: A Small Trip (Patreon)

Phew! I'm back on the case, experimenting with happier writing. I feel like a lot of my work has tended to lean on the gloomy side, and I want to find a better balance. It was a bit of a struggle, but I think it worked pretty well with this one. My main regret is that it turned out much, much longer than I generally aim for. Well, maybe that's not a bad thing, to some folks?

As always, this isn't canon so much as exploring parts of the world of Project Wild One and what they might be like. I do hope you enjoy!

~~~

Cassie wasn't sure what she'd expected, but it wasn't this. The village ahead looked so... small, but also bristling with points. Was this some misunderstanding? Were they actually going to some sort of military outpost?

The road, barely more than a path, led straight to the front gate: a rough double-door of thick wood planks attached to great walls made up of thick trunks, carved to points at the top and leaning slightly outward. On the approach all she could see of the village was this wall circling the whole thing, and a single wooden tower jutting up in the center. The very top of the tower bulged out in a sort of observation platform with a pointed roof, though she could see no one keeping watch. The whole of the village seemed to be hidden inside those walls, in the center of a wide clearing with some croplands hugging tight to the walls. As they got closer, though, she could see figures bustling around the tops of the walls. They'd spotted her caravan approaching.

"Well. You've got till morning to make up your mind, miss. We'll be leaving at first light." The merchant settled back in his seat as the guards behind their wagon started to chatter and laugh.

Cassie looked around, fidgeting. She was relieved to be in sight of safety too, but she found a new anxiety rising as she stared at those walls. Maybe this had been a mistake. "Uh... right. Thank you." She did have enough money to buy a trip back, but... not enough to handle everything after that. She didn't have a job or a home back there anymore. She didn't have anything. If this didn't work, she'd be in for some hard times.

Her mother had told her about the village many times. The stories always seemed so enchanting, somehow, and Cassie had often thought about what it must be like... living in a village made to fit her. When she had to wave her arms to be seen over counters or tables, when she had to dodge getting trampled in the streets. When they had to put a box on her chair so she could sit at a table. Every time she was overlooked, or confused for a child, or called cute, in the back of her head she'd dreamt of this place. A village of just little people. Somewhere she didn't have to crane her head up at everyone, somewhere she could be taken seriously as an adult, where she could get a job that didn't try to make her some sort of mascot or expect her to be incapable of real work.

Even if her mother said she was glad to be in the city, even if she always said it was better there, Cassie couldn't help but wonder. Wish. And... now that her mother had... gone, she didn't have anything to keep her in that great, crowded mess anymore. She had no idea if this was a good idea, but she was going to give it her all and find out for herself.

The gates rattled, and slowly swung out ahead to reveal... a great crowd of people, all just as small as her! Cassie already felt her heart lift. There were a few festivals for small folk in the city every year, but those were the only times she'd seen so many people like her all in one place. They all seemed excited, and for a second she almost thought they were just as excited to see her-- then she blushed. It sounded like merchants only got out here every few months, so they were probably excited to have fresh supplies.

That's what she told herself, but as they drew closer, she found many of the eyes in that crowd... were on her. She suddenly regretted asking to sit up in front-- she had a spot in the back, but she'd been excited to see her (hopefully) new home! Now, more than a dozen people were staring at her, and she somehow wished she were even smaller, that she could disappear from sight. The merchant waved to everyone with a smile, and after a few moments, he gave her a nudge. The people were hollering and chattering noisily as they backed up and moved to either side, making room for them, and Cassie awkwardly raised a paw to wave. She hadn't thought of this part.

They trundled on through into the village proper, headed for what seemed to be a small village square just below the tower. On either side, surprisingly large houses loomed, packed tightly together. Cassie stared, deciphering the strange buildings for a moment before she realized: every house was about the size of the regular houses in the less crowded parts of the city, but was actually many homes crammed together, back to back and on top of each other. The bottom floors seemed to be partly underground, with another floor or even two stacked on top! The main street was just barely large enough for the wagons to squeeze through, and she could see many of the people that had greeted them now scurrying through much smaller side streets. The merchant couldn't have walked through many of them-- wooden walkways were suspended between the houses, leading to narrow little staircases here and there to let people up and down. Cassie had to keep looking twice at everything, at first shocked at how small all the paths and doors were, before... realizing that they would actually fit her quite comfortably, as it did the people rushing ahead.

Even the square was only a grassy patch about as large as one of those houses, and the two wagons in their caravan dominated the space. People crowded in before they even stopped, many calling out asking about wares or news, but many smiling faces peered up at Cassie in her high seat. Her stomach fluttered as she forced an awkward smile. She'd sort of imagined... quietly slipping into town to check the place out, not... whatever this was.

Thankfully, some loudmouthed old porcupine showed up to greet the merchant and draw everyone's attention. By the way he was dressed and how he commanded people's attention, she guessed he was the mayor? He started talking with the merchant about the news from the city and what he'd brought so everyone could hear, and while the folks quieted down to listen, another porcupine, an old woman, approached to reach up and pat her leg. The mayor's wife coaxed her off the wagon, and Cassie was only too happy to take her up on getting away from the crowd while they were distracted.

The woman led her right into the building that served as the base of that high tower, which turned out to be the town hall and home to the mayor's family. The wife was kind, getting her settled down and comfortable in their living room while they talked about what brought Cassie into town. Cassie was rather awkward about that, since she wasn't sure yet if she wanted to stay, but the mayor's wife assured her she'd be welcome.

"I'm sure you'd be popular around here!" The porcupine poured her some tea. "Plenty of able bachelors your age, and everyone's always curious about the city." She didn't seem to notice how Cassie's face soured at that last bit. "You know, you remind me of another squirrel I knew, back in the day, actually. You don't know a Heather, did you?"

Yes, as it turned out, everyone knew everyone here... including Cassie's mom. It sounded like she'd been seen as an oddball or something like that, back in the day. Not the greatest legacy to come back to, but she wasn't much like her mother, so hopefully folks could see her for herself. It had been long enough none of the people of her age would have known her mother, anyway.

But that wasn't what Cassie was worried about. She tried to steer the conversation back around to what life was like here in Featherdale. Wasn't it... dangerous, living out in the wilds?

The mayor's wife seemed amused with that. Around here, people thought of the city as the dangerous place to live-- and Cassie supposed that wasn't entirely wrong. The streets could be rough at times, especially if you found yourself in the wrong part of town. Life was cheap, after all, and if you didn't see who got you, the guard couldn't do much. But... out here, there were monsters everywhere! At least in the city, you only had to worry about people, not... dragons, or werewolves.

And yes, the wife agreed those were dangers, but they got on alright. They had high walls, archers, traps, and atop all that, the Guardian that gave the town its name: a gryphon that roosted atop the tower, protecting their town in exchange for food and a safe place to sleep. If anything too dangerous to be repelled by walls and arrows showed up, the gryphon would swoop in. A few generations back, they'd even scared off a dragon when they all worked together like that. The wife herself had shot down several interlopers in her day.

Cassie was... a little taken aback. "You've... shot monsters?"

Everyone here was trained with a bow from a young age, it turned out. Even Cassie would have to take lessons-- in times of need, every hand would take to the walls to defend the village. They didn't expect her to be as good, of course, but part of their strength was in sheer numbers anyway.

She was a little queasy, processing that, but... the mayor's wife didn't seem worried, or even tense, recounting these fights. It sounded awful, but... living out in the wilds was what had worried her the most about all this. And if this really worked, if they'd managed to survive for generations like that, then... well. She could probably learn to shoot a bow. It felt a little more doable, knowing there was a plan already. Well, of course they already had a plan. The merchant had told her about the gryphon before, but it had all sounded so fantastical, she just...

The clamor of people outside swelled loud for a moment again as the front door opened, then closed. A few moments, and a ferret stooped down to peek into the room. "Evening, ladies! You need a paw in here?" He could only straighten once he was through the doorway, and then his ears came inches short of the ceiling. She thought she'd seen him in the crowd, probably one of the tallest people in the town by the looks of it.

The mayor's wife made an exasperated noise. "We're fine, Toff. What could we possibly need help with?"

"Well, I dunno." He was smiling at Cassie. "I figured the new lass in town didn't come here just for tea, and I should offer my services for the rest. Looking for something? Someone? Need a tour guide? I know all the best spots." He sketched a bow. "Atcher service."

"As a matter of fact," the porcupine huffed, "I was going to take her for a tour as soon as things calmed down."

"Perfect! I can save ya the trouble." The ferret rubbed his paws together. "Don't even gotta wait. We can go out the back."

Cassie blinked at him, and glanced askance at the mayor's wife, who sighed and smiled apologetically. "He's harmless, just a little excited to see a new face, I think. If you're eager to have a look around, I... suppose you could do worse."

Toff grinned at that. "See? I'm not even awful! Anyway, you won't be bored. Whaddya say?"

The squirrel studied him for a moment. She'd known plenty of scumbags, and it was true he seemed almost innocent, for the suspicious way the older woman glanced at him. And... he was kinda cute. Cassie finished her tea and thanked the porcupine for her hospitality before taking him up on the offer.

As soon as they were in the hallway, he started chattering eagerly, starting with how misunderstood he was around here, which soon turned into a careful explanation of some of his more questionable... activities in the past. He laughed recounting a few pranks that hadn't gone over so well, but he assured her as they stepped onto a quiet back street that he didn't do that anymore. "Not unless ya really deserve it, anyway. Here, first stop: I betcha don't have honey rolls like this in the city!" Just down the street, he led her to a cozy little bakery. He never even asked her about herself, though she only realized that after a good while-- the people they passed all stared at her, questions in their eyes, but he just rattled off anecdotes about the village and the people till he got her laughing despite herself. He liked to talk himself up even while making it obvious he made plenty of mistakes, and it was... fun. Even when he was obviously lying about something, somehow it felt very... honest, and refreshing.

The rolls were really good. "Ya can't get fresher without getting stung!" He announced this around a mouthful as they walked on. He introduced her to the blacksmith, a dog almost as wide as he was tall, and took her up several sets of stairs to suddenly end up walking on the roofs, the air clear and brisk after the roaring fires of the forge. Then it was down to the shop-- "this is the best one. The guy on the other side of town is a ponce." Occasionally, people would spot her and try to talk to her, but Toff twisted their questions back on them with a smirk. "You trynna talk her ear off?" She cracked up a little at that, and he looked to her with far too much question in his eyes to not be in on the joke. "Anyway, like I said, they watch me like a hawk after that..." He'd barely paused for breath before guiding her on and resuming his meandering explanation.

"And here's the pub! Buncha rowdy hooligans, I'd stay well clear, miss." He explained this loudly as he opened the door for her to peek inside. "Unless ya like getting drunk and shouting yerself red in the face about old battles and dusty books, then you'd be right at home." A handful of older men jeered or waved dismissively at him from inside, though some laughed as well. "Fancy a drink? No? On, then!"

The doctor wasn't in, but Toff pointed out the clinic and explained that she was a feline with a glare that could strike you down at ten paces, but she was good at picking you up again. The seamstress next door didn't even look up from her work when they peeked in, and once they were out Toff mentioned the mole might not even know there was someone new in town until Cassie had been in there a few times. "Uh, that is, if yer staying." He shot her a smile, but before she could decide whether or how to respond, he carried on. "And of course, here's the wall! I hear it's nothing compared to the one over yonder, but it keeps the nasty sharp things like fangs and claws out there and out of my hide, so I like it."

He took her to the top to peer over the side, though she was a little wary of the spikes, and he touched her back to steady her when she wobbled a little. He coughed, and quickly withdrew his paw when she recovered. She glanced up. Was he blushing? "They don't like it when you use these walkways for a shortcut, but I'm sure they don't mind, this is the long way around!" He gestured to a bluebird with a bow, who glanced at the two of them with a frown. "Anyway, you're new in town, besides. Soak it in. This is what divides hell from paradise." He turned to spread his arms, gesturing to the town.

It was a pretty good view of the town, they were well above the roofs here, but Cassie kept staring out into the distant forest, now dark with the fading daylight. "You really like it here?" It felt strange to talk, and she realized this might have been the first thing she'd actually said to him. He'd been... very talkative.

"Sure!" He smiled easily, and leaned back against the wall. "I mean... y'know, it gets a little boring talking to the same people every day. It can feel a little... small, cooped up in here, some days." He looked down to her. "Thanks for humoring me with all this. I'd been looking forward to even just chatting up the guards, I never thought someone so--" He coughed, glancing away. "Anyway, yeah, thanks."

She watched him from the corner of her eye. It took him about two seconds to glance at her again, then he was glancing away and back again several times, pursing his lips as if she was grilling him before he finally said, "well, y'know, they say everyone's prettier in the cities, and I guess you're not exactly disproving that. I was happy to see you, is what I'm saying." He fidgeted himself right off the wall again. "Ready to go? I saved the best for last, y'know." He was practically hopping in place until she stepped back and nodded, and he promptly led the way. She found a smile on her lips as she followed.

It was still strange, just... walking down streets that actually felt made for her. It gave her a certain vertigo sometimes, like she felt like she was suddenly one of the bigger people, like it wasn't the world that had changed, but her. This must be how they felt all the time, always being able to see easily into windows and storefronts, able to look everyone else in the eye as they passed, never worrying about someone tripping over her. Bridges and eaves hung overhead so that anywhere she went, it felt... snug. It felt... safe? It was strange to turn over that idea, that feeling. Had it felt... scary, walking down streets so wide open, with everything hanging so high overhead? Maybe it was just that she knew nobody was going to punt her by accident, or maybe it was something deeper down. It was hard to identify, but this place was... soothing. It eased a tension she'd lived with so long she hadn't really even been aware of it... until it was gone.

Toff pointed out a few more points of interest along the way --a well, a woman that likes swapping books with people, and a flower that grew where an old, drunk beaver had vomited once-- but their final destination was a bit of a surprise.

"The best and last place is... where we started?" Cassie peered up at the tower, cast half in shadow now as the sun drew low in the sky.

"Sure! But it wasn't ready, yet. C'mon. We gotta be quiet for this part." She blinked at that, and chose to keep a snide comment to herself as they stepped inside.

The ferret led her down a different hallway this time, into a rougher part of the building. The front portion had been clean and nicely decorated for visitors and such, but this area was much rougher, with many doors that were thick and locked, and sawdust sprinkled on the floor. Toff started to peek around corners before proceeding, and at one, he turned to her. "Wait here, and let me know if you see anyone else, okay?" His voice was almost a whisper, and before Cassie could form a response, he scurried down the hall to inspect one of the doors.

She hissed after him, trying to get his attention, but he just waved her to look the other way. What the hell was he getting her into all of a sudden?? She looked down the way they'd come, but saw nothing. She frowned back at the ferret, and he was fiddling with the lock on the door. "Are you seriously going to get me thrown in jail my first day here? What--" Her voice was shrill as she tried to get his attention without making too much noise, but she cut off when she heard someone moving about back the other way. A shadow cast around another corner, and she ducked into their hall, waving at Toff.

The ferret bit his lip, jiggling at the lock, and suddenly he was waving her to come over. She had a lot of things she wanted to say, though she couldn't even form a cogent thought as she hustled to join him and slip through the door. She had to squeeze up against him to slip past, and he quickly swung the door shut-- but stopped at the last moment to ease it shut silently. He eased the lever closed and listened, and both of them were silent for a stretch as he listened.

Finally, he let a breath go and nodded her toward the stairs to one side of what looked like a storage room filled with... more sawdust, and straw? She stepped quietly up the stairs, peeking uncertainly into the next room, and stopped a moment when she saw it was stocked with bows and many barrels of arrows! She was pretty certain she really shouldn't be here!

But Toff urged her on quietly, and when she was slow to climb into the room, he went ahead and took the lead again. This room was small, and just on the other side were more stairs leading up... but these ones curved. He waved her to follow as he hurried up into what could only be the tower itself! She swallowed, trying to form some sort of protest, but she found herself following after the ferret before she could think of what to say.

It was a long climb, and a little dizzying. At some points she wished there were windows so she could see how far up they were, but at other times she was glad there weren't. How was he not out of breath? At the top, he paused to listen at a trap door, and she was happy to rest a moment... but he was soon easing the door open and waving her to come on up.

Cassie was a little unsteady on her feet climbing those final steps, and she very nearly fell over backwards when she peeked over the edge and found she was looking straight at a monster! She made a tiny, but very undignified noise, stumbling back, and Toff had to catch her and ease her back up.

She wasn't sure she wanted back up! But... he wasn't scared? She stared at Toff briefly, then at the... the gryphon. It was a massive, black thing, a mass of faintly gleaming feathers with two great sets of bird talons resting pointed at her. Either one could have easily wrapped around her head entirely. It stirred slightly, and she suddenly recognized its head, buried against its own body, now uncoiling just enough to regard her with one gleaming eye. She froze.

"It's okay," Toff whispered. "She knows me. It's safe."

Cass managed to glance up at him at that, but she still couldn't help but stare. She'd barely seen glimpses of monsters in the distance before, but this was... it was close enough she could smell it. She could just hear its breathing. It was... beautiful, in a terrifying way.

She didn't realize how long she'd been standing there, half on the stairs, until Toff gave her a gentle tug. "C'mon." He was smiling again, leading her up still some more stairs.

"Wh..." Cassie finally managed to pull her thoughts together and her feet to move. "You... It knows you?" They were still in an enclosed space, like a little nest, and the walls were bowing outward on all sides to lead to a larger next floor.

"Yeah, we're friends. I bring 'er beer sometimes." He sounded just a little too casual about it, and Cassie couldn't contain some incredulous noises as they climbed the final, very large stairs leading up to... the sky.

A cool breeze suddenly whipped across the squirrel's face as they emerged from shadow and silence, her shadow leaping out ahead of her and over an open edge. She faltered again, grabbing Toff to steady herself. That was just... open air ahead of them! Her head whipped around, eyes wide.

The rest of the lookout was, thankfully, at least enfolded by a rail to keep people from falling out. Six wooden supports held the roof up overhead, but other than these... they had a full view of all of the village, the fields, the forest, the mountains, and the sky. Cassie's mouth hung open a little as she drank it all in, clinging to the ferret against that dizzying height. The wind whipped and howled, carrying many scents and snippets of noise from the town up to them in turn as the people below milled about, going home or to enjoy each other's company. The sun was cradled in a distant fold in the forest, trickling down between countless trees to cast strange, soft shadows across the walls and the two of them.

Finally, Cassie slumped against the ferret, panting. She'd barely even breathed for a while there.

"Pretty good, huh?" Toff gripped one of the wooden beams to steady both of them, and his other arm was awkwardly raised out of the way. Cassie made a faint noise. "Y'wanna sit down?" She nodded, and together, they moved out of the way of the stairs to sit by another beam. Toff let his legs dangle over the edge, but Cassie had to look away and just sit with her back to the beam.

"...Sorry if this was a little much. Are you scared of heights?"

Cassie was silent for a few moments, just catching her breath. Finally: "...no. Not really. It's been..." She finally brought herself to look out across the village, and the land beyond. "...This has been... good. Really good. Just... yeah, more than I expected."

He chuckled. "Well, I didn't want you to be bored. And I thought you'd enjoy yourself if ya didn't have to talk too much."

The squirrel stopped, and she looked at Toff. All of Heaven and Earth on display, and she found herself staring at him. "...Why'd you... How'd you know that?"

Toff was staring at the forest thoughtfully, but he smiled when she amended her question. "Well, y'know. I'm great with people. A real genius. But also, I saw ya coming in, you looked like you wanted to scream, 'don't look at me! I just wanna hide somewhere dark and quiet!' That was pretty obvious. And I mean, sure, fair. But that would be kinda boring, and I want you to have a good first impression of our little town."

Is that what she'd wanted? Well... maybe. She'd kept to herself a lot before all this, and partly she thought that was because she didn't like the city. But maybe that was just... something about her? It had been a much friendlier and less threatening crowd that welcomed her here, but she'd still felt so anxious. Maybe she just had a tough time with... people. But... it did feel better here. And... in what little time they'd spent together, she felt better with Toff than she remembered feeling with anyone back... there.

He'd gone to a lot of trouble for her sake, really. And... had he really read so much into her so quickly, and gone so far out of his way to make her comfortable?

The ferret finally glanced over at her, and she realized she'd been staring at him for several minutes now. Blushing, she looked away.

He'd wanted her to have a good first impression, he'd said. "...Why are you so intent on me liking this place?"

Toff smirked at that, looking across the village below. "Well. I dunno what you're here for, but even if you're not looking to stay here, I figure I could maybe put the idea in yer head."

Cassie tilted her head a little. "And... is this where you confess that you fell madly in love with me as soon as you saw me?"

He laughed. "Surely nothing so noble! Have you seen me? I'm far too much of a heartbreaker to possibly settle down." He struck a pose, pouring on the illusionary charm with a smoldering smile until she laughed.

"Well. ...Why are you going to all the trouble, then?"

He stared out at the sky for a moment as the sun started to dissolve completely amidst those distant trees. Then he looked at her for a long moment. Then he looked up, smiling. "Betcha don't have a sky like this in the city."

Cassie frowned, but looked up. The stars were coming out, and... words died on her lips.

She'd seen stars before, of course. Even some constellations. But there were so... many. Every star had a hundred more, smaller ones around it. And the sky was so... wide. She leaned over to peek past the roof, and flinched when Toff touched her.

"Here. Lie down." He shifted around and lay down with his head just short of the edge, to show her. He held up a paw to help her ease down, and after a brief pause, she did. A shuddering sigh escaped her as the stars stretched out all around her, filling her vision. It had never looked anything like this. There was still a deep, rich blue to the sky, but even so, the stars gleamed in impossible multitudes. Her head swam as she tried to take it all in, and she had to take hold of the ferret's paw to anchor herself before she fell into that glistening sea.

The last of the light faded, and the roof below became a black horizon. Blue faded imperceivably into black, and still she couldn't take it all in, all these stars. She felt strange, at once peaceful and deeply troubled, like she could feel something immense moving inexorably. Her imagination, or her soul?

It was a long time before she managed to gather herself enough to accuse him. "You didn't answer my question."

He breathed a chuckle. "...I've talked a lot. Would you tell me a little about yourself?"

She made a low noise in her throat, but she'd humor him. "...What do you want to know?"

"Well." He stared up at the sky with her, letting his thumb run down hers a moment. "I don't think I've gotten your name, for one."

Laughter echoed down from the tower that night, as did many murmurs of conversation. There was a new voice in the village.

Come morning, the merchant emerged from his guest lodgings to get ready for the return trip. He paused, though, when he found Cassie waiting for him by the wagons, her eyes grainy and tired. He suppressed a frown. This squirrel had been so excited to see this village, she'd come to question him about it more times than he cared to count before she'd finally made the jump. "...Morning, little miss. Will you be coming back with us, then?"

The squirrel smiled. "No, thank you. I just forgot to grab my things."

He obliged her happily and unlocked the back of the wagon so she could retrieve the small bundle that was all she had in this world. "...You'll be alright here, then?" He hid a yawn behind a paw.

Cassie stood there checking her pack as the village slowly came to life, other tiny people starting to mill about and greet each other. Finally, she looked around at the morning traffic, then up at the man. There was something else in her eyes now, something he'd never seen there before. "Yes. I think so."