Binky, through unsteady breaths, ran to Twigbart. She shook his shoulder.
"...Twiggy? Oh Esûne..."
He didn't stir to her shaking. She put an ear to his chest—it rose, pressing against her head. His heart was still beating,
She sighed a breath of relief.
"He will be fine," a deep voice grumbled behind her, "Be still, little one, and no harm will come to you."
She turned and grabbed her uncapping knife. It wobbled in her hand. She wasn't thinking anymore. All her actions were reactions.
A figure rose from a branch in a tree. It was a tall and lanky silhouette, a confident lone hunter. It returned an arrow to its quiver.
Binky couldn't speak. Human. Killer. She looked over at the dying Giant Badger: only a squeak escaped her tight throat. When she turned back to face her mysterious foe—they had disappeared.
"You... you better kill me, human! Or you will be hunted by my vengeance!" The words came out gurgled and terrified, the emptiest threat she had ever made.
THUMP—
The creature three-point landed in front of her, dampened by the forest floor. Binky charged.
It's wince gave her confidence as she sliced across its bare calf, but it barely faltered a step. She felt a giant hand wrap around her head, fingers delicately pushing into her temples. She rose from the ground.
She was met with dark, smokey eyes; the irises absorbed the eyeball. A small, gentle grin bloomed at the side of its mouth. Pointed ears flicked out from beneath dark, long hair.
"You are... a very courageous Gnome. But also a very naive one. Perhaps it is your nature. Fortunately for you and your friend, I am nowhere near a human. I am Noros Mossvale of the Wood Elves," it's voice was like molasses, calming Binky in a weird, natural manner. It set her down gingerly on the brush.
"This is all quite troublesome," Noros moved towards the Badger. He passed a hand over her face, closing her eyes, "She will find peace in the passing, but we must do something for her." Binky followed his glance as he turned to the baby badger. Binky felt a heavy guilt in her chest. She watched the confused baby badger start to egress from the burrow's remains, sniffing towards its mother.
"Why did you kill her?" Binky rubbed a snot bubble away from her nose. "She was going to let him go."
Noros turned to her, "And how do you know this?"
"I... she..." Binky looked at her. "She told me."
Noros' stern face softened. His eyebrows knitted. "I see I have also made a mistake."
He picked up the baby by the scruff. It squirmed and cried.
"What are you doing? Put it down!" Binky had had enough for today.
"At ease, Forest Gnome." He placed the baby in front of Binky. It tried to back away, but Noros' quick feet blocked an exit. "This baby will not survive without a caretaker. This is the debt you must repay. He is your responsibility now."
"But... you did this." She balled her little hands into fists.
"I'm not the one who ventured to what I did not know. Be wary, sheltered one—your people are known among the Wood Elves. Your kind have been blinded by your comfort. Death does not care to hear your good intentions. It is a force like the air, the trees, the waters, the lives all these creatures live. It just is, and we will never understand its timing or its decisions. None of this would have happened if you hadn't had been here. But you are. So you must understand your role in this."
She looked at the baby badger. It pawed at its mother's body. It whispered and cried in confusion.
"I'm... so lost." Binky said through tears.
"Take your friend and the kit back to your Illusion. Find bliss in your seclusion, and be the mother that was robbed of this kit. But may you always remember this—our hands have more power in this world than the creatures without them. You find you might have to use your two hands to fix what others, or even yourself, cause. If you are not accountable, all you will do is destroy."
"And what's your accountability, you who wields the bow and arrow?" She felt anger rise within her.
He rightfully sighed. "I will see that she passes to the other side."
Binky nodded. She had never met a Wood Elf before, but sensed a strong spirituality that had oneness with these wilds. A oneness Oldroot had isolated itself from, for fear of death.
She looked into the baby badger's eyes. It's face was covered in dirt and blood from nudging at its mother. It's nostrils flared in the air. A hotness filled her head again, but this time, as a small, bewildered voice.
What happened to my mommy?
Binky reeled. She crouched down, extending a hand. "If you come with me..." she swallowed her cry, "I will fix this."
It sniffed at her hand, very anxiously. Then, it rubbed against it, agreeing to follow.
When she stood up, the Wood Elf's figure leapt through the trees, his silhouette high in the branches. A small sigil was left—it had a Badger's face on it. She picked it up and pocketed it. Its intent had many meanings—she didn't want to try to understand right now.
She slung Twigbart's arm over her shoulder, and made her way towards the bunny hole. The kit followed, occasionally looking back.
"I will name you Dirtface," Binky said to the kit. It padded along silently. "And I promise to feed you like a king when we get home. I know you'll love Oldrootian honey." Its step quickened a little at the last word.
"I'm so sorry," she said to Dirtface, to the Forest, to Noros, to Mama Badger.
She vowed on that day, to defend not only Oldroot, but all its non-Gnomish inhabitants around it. Binky had found a purpose out of pain, and learned a lesson about mistakes she'd never forget.
She would defend those who could not defend themselves. She would become hyper-aware, as the animals are. Carelessness meant pain and death of the innocent, and she could not live in a world where that was acceptable.
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