Thieves
Chapter 9 - A Lawless Place


Sis awoke, his eyes heavy, and he could smell a familiar scent. A fire was rattling beside him, but he felt cold, especially his legs. He shifted them to press them together and noticed the distinctive feeling of fur on fur. Slowly his eyes came open and the scent grew stronger, as his senses returned to him. The smell was strong, everywhere around him and it was... Jack.

It was definitely Jack's scent. He turned his head down, his nose pressed directly into the source of it, and he saw the collar of Jack's jacket. He was wrapped in it and a pelt was draped around his legs and feet. Sis took a glance around the small wooden room he was in and spotted the human leaned against one of the walls, his feet pointing at the fire.

Jack was sitting on a pelt, the blanket from his backpack wrapped loosely over his legs, on his upper body he wore his shirt. And he was reading a book. Sis recognized the title, although he couldn't read well. 'Jeff's Joyful Journeys' it read. The fox felt a harsh flush of pain at the back of his head, as he craned his neck and remembered when he found the book in Jack's stuff. Suddenly the man shifted his eyes over the rim of his book and looked at Sis.

"How're you feeling?" he asked still looking at him.

"Good, I guess," answered Sis, as a new wave of pain struck his head. He brought a hand to the back of his head and tested carefully for an injury, to his surprise he felt amazingly little with his numb fingers. "What happened?"

"You don't remember?" Jack asked, looking a bit further over his book. "Well, despite my advice not to, you decided to take a bath in the river. And then I had to pull you out."

Suddenly Sis remembered what had happened, the river, the frozen log, the fall. He could remember hitting something with his head and presumed that it must have been the cause for his headache now. Fur and skin of the fox still had a bit of dampness to them as well, now that he noticed. Apparently, fur and skin was the only thing he noticed right now. He glanced down his body, covered with a pelt and Jack's jacket, and felt awkwardly exposed as he noticed that he was naked.

His clothes were hanging from a rope. He took another glance to Jack and had to imagine for a moment how that guy had touched him while he was naked... and unconscious. He felt vulnerable and angry, but the man just looked with a mixture of concern and tiredness at him, not even his usual smile showed. And there were no signs of guilt or remorse on his face. 

"Here," said Jack as he took the cooking pot from a place near the fire and passed it over to Sis. "Drink it. Careful it's hot." The pot contained a cup-full of lightly green colored water and a few leaves or herbs at the bottom. It emitted a strong spicy smell.

"What is it?" asked Sis staring down into the small metal pot.

"Tea," answered the human, half reading his book again, "It's good for lungs, nose, neck and stuff, if you've caught a cold."

"I don't feel ill."

"It's also preventive," replied Jack.

The fox carefully took a sip of the hot liquid. It tasted far worse than it smelled. While it reeked of an herbal tea of some sorts, it tasted extremely bitter and more of freshly cut weed than herbs. But the warmth of the tea felt good as it spread through his body. He took another sip.

"Thanks, by the way," Jack announced, his hand taken from the book and turning in the air, "For rescuing my poor, useless body out of the icy fangs of the water, while risking your own life, my hero!" his voice was absolutely theatrically as he spoke.

Sis only snorted dismissive.

He lowered himself again and wrapped himself tighter into the human's jacket. As he lay there, he thought that, despite Jack's exaggeration, it was indeed a laudable act of him to help him out of the river. Surely no other human would have given a damn about a drowned fox, let alone take action and help him out. Maybe it was okay to show some gratefulness, after all, weren't it for him, Sis wouldn't be alive any more.

"Jack..." the fox spoke, shifting his head only far enough to have a glance of the human, "...Thanks."

Jack didn't even look up from his book. "Yeah, yeah. Whatever, foxy," his tone wasn't disappointing, it was more as if he didn't want to speak too much now. He slowly flipped a page and added, "You'd better get some more sleep now. We'll eat when you wake up."

And so, the fox drifted easily back into sleep.

***

When he awoke again, Jack already had emptied the horrible tasting tea and replaced it with the beans he had brought. He was still reading in his book. "What are you reading?" Sis asked.

"A book," Jack replied, smiling behind the pages. The obvious answer stirred only an annoyed look on the fox's face. Jack caught the look directed at him, his smile widened and he went on, "It's a tale about a wolf who travels to the capital to live a better life. And on his way he experiences some... uh, adventures."

"I thought people around here don't care much about our kinds. Where did you get this?" Sis asked sitting up, still covered in Jack's jacket.

"It's from the north," he answered.

The thought that, in the north, this was possible, for a wolf to just travel into the capital, to actually find a better life, this was awesome. Down here there were only one way into the capital for 'short ones'. And according to everything one heard about that place, it didn't hold a better life. "Are we really equally accepted in the north? Even in the capital?"

Jack gazed over his book, "Not only accepted," he clarified, "The government in the northern capital actually partly consists of your kind." He closed his book, laid it down and moved to the cooking pot, carefully placed, just out of the reach of the flames, on two still glowing, charred logs. "Dinner should be ready, by the way," the human added, as he stirred the pot's contents with a spoon and had a taste. "Yup, just about right," he decided and handed the pot over to Sis, "Here have your share."

Before the fox reached his hands out, which he had covered with the jacket, he looked to his clothes hanging from the rope. Sure they were dry by now.

"Oh, you wanna get dressed first?" Jack asked following the fox's gaze, "Sure thing."

But Sis hesitated and looked expectant to Jack.

"What?" asked the human, obviously not getting the hint.

"Turn around," Sis ordered, clutching at the jacket draped over his shoulders.

A devious grin formed itself on Jack's face. "Shy now, are we?" he said and didn't miss as the fox's pointy ears folded back, just a little bit. "Don't worry," he continued, "there's nothing I haven't seen already."

Sis stayed where he was and pouted at the human, "Just turn around already! Don't make a big deal out of this!"

"Oh, it was not my intention to make a big deal out of this," he said slowly, as he put the cooking pot down. His grin had grown from cheek to cheek. "But I ain't goin' anywhere." And then he just leaned comfortably back, with all the time he needed, not once letting his hungry, staring eyes wander from the fox.

Sis folded his ears threateningly upward and passed an angry look to Jack. "Come on, don't mock me!"

The human continued to smile, "Who's making a big deal out of this now, huh?"

Something told the fox, that Jack was not about to look away. Not unless he forced him to, but how should he do this while being naked, if not with words. Not to mention that he feared that Jack would like this even more. Best to get just through with it, he thought.

He stood up, covering himself with Jack's jacket, and went for his clothes. Picking his pants down with one hand, while the other held his cover in place, was manageable. But putting them on was another matter. He would make more of a fool out of him if he tried to pull them up, while staying covered, as to just let the jacket go and accept to be fully naked in front of him for a few seconds. Not that he had anything to be ashamed for. And actually, Jack was right, he had already seen everything.

So he plunged the jacket down onto the floor, covered him as best as he could with his tail and pulled up his pants. He put on the top as well before addressing the human again, "There! Happy now?"

Jack's smile turned into a giggle, "We need to work on your performance, but other than that I'm quite satisfied. Now eat, before the beans get cold."

Sis snorted and sat down to eat. The beans weren't a particular feast, but he had eaten far worse, so he wasn't complaining. He already felt much better than before his nap. Whether it was just the sleep, that ominous tea or whether his state wasn't as bad as it felt to begin with, he didn't know. The only thing that really still bugged him was his headache, although the swelling, now that he could feel again, eased off.

"So, are we going on tomorrow?" Sis asked between a spoon of beans.

Jack looked warily over the fox, "Not unless you're fit again. We've still got some provisions, so another day ain't goin' to kill us."

"I'm fine," Sis assured him.

"You sure?" Jack asked, "'cause I'd rather stay here another night over having you break down in the middle of the way. It's not far anymore, but don't expect me to carry you another time."

"Yes, I'm sure," he confirmed him, "I'll manage this. We've already got almost the whole way behind us," and with that he reached the pot, witch Jack's share in it, over to him.

"Good, then we'll be on our way tomorrow," Jack declared and ate a spoon full of the beans. "Mmmm, delicious," he stated exaggerating again, "and do I taste a hint of fox there?"

"You are ridiculous," he said, rolling his eyes.

"I hope I am," Jack answered, "Where would be all the fun otherwise?"

Sis had to smile involuntarily at that, and shook his head. Soon both of them were going back to sleep, to get some more rest before the next day. Especially the fox needed it. At the next morning Sis' headache and the swelling was reduced to a soreness and he felt relaxed and capable to last the rest of the way to Kononoano. So after a quick breakfast they were on their way.

"Congratulations, by the way," Jack said as he lit one of his cigarettes, "for gaining your freedom."

"It's a bit late for that, isn't it?" he replied while wadding through the snow. The days were getting colder.

Jack looked down at the fox, "I mean the river. It's the border of Eesgahlom."

"So?" the fox asked for clarification.

Jack took a swig of his cigarette and slowly exhaled the smoke while he spoke, "Well, law 'round her says, that when a slave gets lost or runs away, the owner loses the right of ownership when the slave passes the land's borders and is claimed by a new owner. Or in short: the Dolemans can't claim you back anymore."

"Well, that's good news. Right?" he said, but his tone lacked euphoria. He may be technically free now, but he technically may as well get captured again at every moment.

"Hmhm," he agreed, puffing out a smoke cloud. "The murder on the other hand is another matter. Crimes like that are sought after over regionally. And once you get caught they'll transfer you back to the location of the crime for punishment. Haha, not that it would matter where they'd punish a short one for committing murder, huh?"

It was indeed of little matter where a short one would get punished for murder. The punishment for a HUMAN who had killed another person was, almost always, death by hanging. A slave wouldn't get such a fast end. Slaves who had committed a crime to be punished by death often were made an example of. First one could expect to get tortured for sure, to confess. And after that the real punishment would begin. Quartering, drowning, stoning, starvation, pillory or disembowelment were all legitimate procedures to end a short one's life. He may be guilty of murder. And maybe he deserved to be killed in return, but... this was not equitably. No one deserved to be put to death like this. Not even his former owners. Sure, if he were given the chance he would take advantage of it and let them taste some of their own medicine. He often wished them death, and to one or two of them he would deliver it himself if he could, but these gruesome techniques were, even for those who wronged him the most, too barbaric. He would do whatever was necessary to survive, but he couldn't slaughter someone just because this someone would do the same to him without thinking twice about it.

As he thought about what he would, could and couldn't do to his former owners, something that Jack had said came back to his mind.

"You said, that they couldn't claim me back as a slave, right?"

"Right."

"I have crossed the border, but I haven't been claimed by a new owner!" Sis declared.

"Well, you're with me now, aren't you?"

"Is this how you see this, then?" Sis demanded.

Jack pulled the half burned-down cigarette from his lips, "It is not!" he said seriously. "And actually I thought this was clear," he added and snipped the cigarette into the snow.

For a moment the crunching snow under their feet was all one could hear, until Jack took hold of the fox by his shoulder and shoved the much smaller creature flailing into a snow dune. Sis pulled himself from the cold sensation and shook his head free of the snow, sending his long ears flying through the air. He sat there, somewhat dump, and found Jack looking down at him.

"...Sorry," the fox said quietly, turning his gaze away.

"It's okay, foxy," he said offering a hand, "I know this is... somewhat of a difficult subject."

He silently accepted the offered hand and brushed off the remaining snow. Jack didn't talk either. It seemed he wanted to let the situation fall, to not make the fox feel awkward about the theme. It was already too late for that. Sis felt, that he needed to say something. Anything. But he just didn't know what, so he went with, "I didn't mean to sound ungr-"

But he was interrupted by a dismissively waving hand of Jack, "Ahh, we're friends, ain't we? Forgiven and forgotten." They were already back on their way, when Jack pointed over the treetops of the last, thin edge of forest, "We're almost there."

Over the trees Sis could see several thin streaks of white smoke against the blue, almost cloudless, sky. And soon the whole of the town of Kononoano came into view. The place was much bigger in dimensions than Eesgolen had been, yet the buildings weren't more fancy or bigger, rather the opposite. From what Sis could see, the town consisted of very simple but sturdy houses, mostly made of wood. The streets looked to be brown, an indication for the absence of paved roads, rather uncommon for a town this size. Even most small villages had at least one paved main road. To the far right hand side of the place the buildings grew higher and consisted progressively more of stone. This seemed to be the center of the town, although it wasn't placed in the middle of it. As they drew nearer and nearer towards the town, Sis grew more and more nervous.

"Shouldn't I get hidden or something?" he asked, as the distance between him and the view concealing forest grew. And it was still bright daylight, probably early evening.

Jack didn't stop walking, "Nah, you should be fine. Kono' is something of a lawless place."

"A lawless place?" Sis repeated.

"Yeah, almost the whole thing is one giant ghetto, full of thieves, criminals, scoundrels and also short ones. You're not going to cause a stir. Just stay with me and let me do the talking."

They marched on. "And the authorities tolerate that?" Sis wondered.

"It's kind of a silent agreement. The nearest big city, St. Curson, is full of rich people. High society, ya know," he mocked, "If they'd raid Kono' all those filthy criminals would need a new home. I guess it's obvious where they would be going. So as long as the dirt stays in Kononoano, the bosses keep their feet still."

"So, this place is safe for me, yes?" Sis asked.

Jack laughed, "Ha, Kono' may be a lotta things, but it ain't save!"

"Calming," Sis murmured.

"Ah, don't worry," Jack said, "you still got me."

"I'm doomed!"

"Hahaha! That's the spirit," the human laughed again. "But seriously, just do as I said. Stay near to me and don't talk to anyone, and if you have to: first: you belong to me, second: we came from Korrd, and thirdly: you have no clue where we're going. No one needs to know more than that, got it?"

"Who would want to talk to me?" the fox asked.

Jack only shrugged, "Doesn't matter. We're just staying the night. I'm not even going to resupply yet. It's only a short way to St. Curson and I'm runnin' out of money."

"Don't you still have the gems?" Sis suggested.

"Sure. But I can't get rid of them here."

"Why?"

"Because I don't know a fence here," Jack explained.

"Isn't this a place full of criminals?" the fox asked. "Sure a few of them wouldn't have a problem with buying stolen goods. I mean, it isn't that they would betray a fellow thief, right?"

"Oh, foxy," Jack sighed, "you still got a lot to learn. That's exactly what they would do. First they cash up on a few of the gems, then they cash up on the bounty on my head by betraying me and then they sometimes cash up a third time on the reward for the finder."

"And that fence of yours wouldn't do that, why...?"

"Because a fence," Jack explained, "lives of two things: His reputation and the deals he makes. If you buy stolen goods and turn the seller in to the guards, no one with a brain will sell something to you. But if you have a reputation, you got the right people to buy from and you got the right people to sell to, thus you make good deals. It may be a bit more expensive to sell to a real fence, than to a street fence, but these guys want you caught by the guards as little as you do yourself. 'Cause someone might blurt out something about their business. Now c'mon foxy," he waved as he strolled into the town.

Sis walked a bit closer to the human and followed him, "I told you not to call me this!"
